Humanity
by firezone783
Summary: Humans have always been the Doctor's favorite race, always managing to surprise him. He only wishes that "surprise" was innately good but that isn't always the case. Spoilers - the human race spreads out across the universe, face great threats and still, they survive. But somewhere along the way they forgot the difference between surviving and living and what it means to be human.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all, back again and starting more things that I may never finish. Brilliant. Go away.

Right. Anyway though, I started this maybe about a year ago for this challenge I heard about called the Nanorimo or November Novel challenge. You basically write a novel in a month but this carried on into for freaking ever so here we go. Going to try to post regularly, maybe every week or two to keep some discipline in my life but classes start up again next Monday and I also start a new job so we'll see how that goes.

My first Doctor Who fic in reality sort of, I started with the 11th Doctor so I have NO IDEA why I decided to write for the 10th but always open to notes on, well, anything.

Thanks so much to everyone whose helped me out! Ghost, Yen, Killer, Nico and Yel for helping me to keep my writing in character and betaing a bunch of my chapters. Also crediting different materials I've referenced such as the Whoology book (found it at Barnes & Noble) and show clips, etc.

Disclaimer like all hell. The only part of this that's mine are the plot and the character Cal Valgus.

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 **Earth: Blackridge Observatory**

 **December 9** **th** **, 2414**

Far from the lights of the largest human settlement on the planet, snow and silence came with the night to Blackridge Mountain. Even though the sky was far from clear, it was still a beautiful sight to the Observatory's lone occupant. For First Lieutenant Caligo Valgus, the solitude was her peace. Up in the telescope room she stood looking out over the snow covered peak and the gray clouds in the sky. Even with the roof to the observatory closed, the chilled air still seeped in and she made a mental note to do something about the poor insulation later on. While things like the weather were normally trivial concerns to her, she entertained that little part of her mind that thought it was getting a bit ridiculous to have to wear her leather aviator jacket, boots, ear muffs, jeans **and** gloves while indoors. The young woman took a sip of the Earl Gray tea in her festive, albeit worn, reindeer mug and exhaled a faint cloud of steam.

"Wilhelm, what does the weather look like for the remainder of the evening?"

The steel blue Tech drone whirred to life at the sound of her voice and sat in the corner of the room, motionless for a brief moment.

"Cloudy, the temperature remaining at a steady negative 23 degrees, Lieutenant."

Caligo hummed thoughtfully as the Tech drone reverted back to its standby mode and continued to look out the small window. _There's nothing to be done until the sky clears,_ she mused to herself, _I can just keep an eye on the monitors for now, though I honestly don't like the idea of not being able to see the signs of an oncoming surge for myself… Low power satellites just don't have the transmission range to detect it in time…_ Another sigh, heavier this time and accented with the gesture of running her fingers through her wild bangs, she placed the cup down on a small table nearby and went to check her list of ongoing projects that she could hopefully direct her spare time to. "Everything's too still for my liking right now. Wilhelm, how about we-"

A deafening noise-something completely indescribable to her-resounded through the halls on all levels of the observatory and sent the alarms blaring. She felt like swearing, but the moment was gone in an instant before she picked up an old wooden baseball bat leaning up against the door handle. "I shouldn't think aloud because apparently the universe is still listening…"

"Lieutenant, the alarm was triggered on level two in the main generator room," Wilhelm informed her just before she strode out to investigate.

"Lock everything down. Whoever this is, I don't want them leaving until I find out how they got into this building in the first place."

Whether it was because they had disturbed her first slow evening in months or that they had somehow managed to make it past the observatory entrance without tripping an alarm until now, she wasn't about to let them off the hook.

"Good grief, what crashed into us…?"

A loud thrumming sound filled the air at a skull rattling volume and whether it was coming from the TARDIS or whatever busted up machinery was around him, the Doctor honestly couldn't tell at the moment. Speaking of the machinery, it looked like it had seen better days anyhow. The TARDIS on the other hand…

"Hopefully you're not too banged up…" He patted the frame of the big blue police box fondly when red lights and what sounded like a fog horn blared around him. This was sure to attract attention now that he thought about it. He did a quick sweep of the red tinted room, assessing the damage and danger before he located the alarm system's trigger point. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and after a quick adjustment from it, all was silent and dimly lit once more. First off, he noted the darkness. Probably someplace that wasn't ventured to very often. Cold? Probably a high powered generator that needed to be kept cool, judging by the hum of the machinery and the hinges on the grated floor panels. "Must mean there's a mechanic somewhere around here then. Maybe they could give us a little place to do a system check and see what the damage is."

"Authorized personnel only."

Breath fanned over the back of his neck and something reasonably solid was suddenly barred against his throat. The sudden weight behind him forced him to bend backwards at an uncomfortable angle and he was sure even a Time Lord's spine wasn't made for this. Thank goodness for his respiratory bypass system because it seemed like whoever this was had every intent to choke him to death or maybe just break his back.

"Well hello to you too! You're rather strong…!"

Must've been the wrong thing to say if she was still trying to choke him.

"You can let go, I promise I'm not gonna hurt you okay? Cross my hearts."

It certainly wasn't getting any better. Sometimes these situations made the Doctor wonder if his mouth got him into trouble. The girl must've been excessively small because this angle was really starting to hurt. "I think you're the one who needs to worry about getting hurt. Who are you and how did you get in here."

"The Doctor and I sort of….crashed…Now, could you let go? My back is starting to hurt and what is this thing you've got here? Feels like wood." The Doctor ran his hands over the object that was in fact a wooden baseball bat and tested his strength against his captor's. It really didn't seem like she intended on letting up on the pressure. As much as he didn't want to hurt her, he really needed her to let go. He must've caught her by surprise when he stepped into her and flung her onto his back because she definitely grunted. "Oi, back really hurts now…Could you maybe get off...!"

The girl easily rolled herself off his back and threw him down onto the metal grating with the momentum, taking back the bat as well. "They sent a Doctor? I might be insulted by what they're insinuating." The girl looked more like a woman now that he could actually see her. He also saw her raise the bat over her head, ready to strike and that probably would've hurt a lot if she got in a good swing at him. He quickly pointed his screwdriver at the hinged panel just a step in front of her, the hatch suddenly flying open and hitting her in the knees. She barely caught herself on the edge of the dark, deep looking vent. A blast of cold air hit both of them and the woman glared up at him.

"Get me the hell out of here!"

"Sorry! Sorry! I definitely didn't mean to do that," he yelled back in a panic, grabbing onto her arm and trying his best to pull her back up. "Don't worry, I've got you! Goodness, you're heavy!"

"Shut up and pull me up!"

There was a Princess Bride line on the tip of his tongue, but he figured that it'd better wait until she was safe again. The duo fell backward on the floor, panting and probably extremely relieved to be out of the vent. "You alright…?" The small woman suddenly rolled over and straddled his torso, grabbing the lapels of his trench coat and hoisting him up to meet her glaring black eyes.

"You," she growled dangerously.

"Me...?" He gave her an expectant look as he waited for her to finish her sentence but it seemed like all she could do at the moment was glare at him and pant. In the time they stayed that way he noticed that she actually sat very lightly on his chest (maybe she took that comment about her being heavy to heart?) and her dark hair fluffed over her right eye. Actually, he couldn't see her eye under that mess of hair. There was even a military insignia on the left sleeve of her jacket in silver with a polished black skull in the center.

" _Lieutenant. The alarm was shut off from the trigger point. Security drones en route."_

The glare on the woman's face suddenly dropped in severity to something more like a displeased scowl. Maybe she was wearing an ear piece? "I'm fine. I've found the intruder," she stated stonily, still looking at him, "He's no threat. Send some repair drones to this location and I'll take care of the security breech after we get this sorted out here." The woman let go of his coat and swiftly got up, even turning her back to him to kick the vent shut and look at the TARDIS.

"So…Lieutenant? Am I on a military base," he asked. The Doctor got back up onto his feet, doing a quick check to see if she'd done any real damage to him and straightened out his coat. The Lieutenant seemed less interested in him now compared to his ship.

"First Lieutenant Caligo Valgus and yes. You've somehow managed to get yourself and this old fashioned…phone box into the Blackridge Observatory post. You don't seem to have knocked a hole anywhere in the building and you can't be strong enough to just walk in here with it," the Lieutenant mumbled. She was more talking to herself than him as she circled the TARDIS slowly with curiosity that practically radiated off of her.

The Doctor couldn't help a small smirk at the curiosity that he often saw in humans. It couldn't hurt to show the old girl off a little. "Not **just** a phone booth, Lieutenant. This is the Tardis. The most powerful ship in the universe," he said proudly, "and she's mine."

The lieutenant stopped her pacing, still eyeing the TARDIS, and gave what looked to be an appreciative nod. "So your ship is alive then? Well. I don't know how you two got in here, but you're trespassing." Her expression didn't change but her tone wasn't steely like before. She was speaking matter-of-factly because he knew that they weren't actually supposed to be here, wherever here was. "I don't recall ever having run into this type of craft before but it looks like you both found out that the generator was made of tougher stuff than you thought."

The Doctor wasn't quite sure where the conversation was heading but this sounded like as good a welcome as it came when he broke into military bases on accident.

Caligo had no idea what gave her the confidence to not bludgeon someone who had just waltzed into a base with a military grade security system that was the best in the entire city of Pillar to **not** do something bad. For some reason, this man just didn't strike her as a threat despite the facts set before her in the last ten minutes. "You said you got lost?"

"Oh, yes actually. You wouldn't happen to know what planet we're on would you? Or the year for that matter?" His smile dropped a little when he saw the odd look she was giving him. She must've thought he sounded crazy. In fact, he did sound a bit crazy to her, but a lot of that came from the fact that he was somehow still breathing while she was trying to choke the life out of him earlier. It felt a lot more like **he** wasn't crazy per say, but he **sounded** that way.

"You're on Earth in an outpost on the eastern mountain range bordering the largest human settlement, Pillar. It's early December in the year 2414. Where exactly are you aiming to go and what does the year have to do with it? You do know that all travel other than non-technology based forms have been prohibited don't you?"

"What? What for?"

More weird looks but what were either of them expecting at this point? Obviously one of them had some 'catching up with the times' to do. "First things first. If your ship is alive and suffered damage from the crash, she needs a doctor. Or rather an engineer in this case," she quipped, directing her attention to her left arm and rolling the sleeve up over what looked to be a very miniature control module strapped onto her forearm.

A little fiddling caused several of the foot-long dome like structures on the ceiling to drop down as drones of some sort. The polished black fiberglass shells matched a set of arms that folded out from them and large circles on what appeared to be their front glowed bright green.

"Let's bring this ship down to the workshop. We can run a diagnostic there and see if there isn't something we can do." The circular lights blinked a few times in response before they went about their assigned task. The lieutenant waved a hand over her shoulder as she started out of the room through a door that he hadn't seen before and the drones followed her out with the Tardis in their claw like grasp.

"Woaw, wait now! Where are you taking my ship!?"

"Workshop. Are you just going to stand there?"

 _Cheeky, this one_ , he thought to himself before following. He thought about it a little more and it struck him as odd that he had suddenly just assumed that she was sassing him in that monotone voice of hers, but maybe it had something to do with the way she yelled at him earlier. "Me thinks I've got a real character on my hands here," he mused to himself before catching up to her. "So Lieutenant Valgus. Tell me about this travel ban going on right now. Pretend like I'm an alien from a completely different planet who's never even heard of Earth before."

"I already assumed something of the like."

"What? Is it the clothes?" The Doctor, just a step or two ahead of her, did a little twirl so she could get a good look at the suit and trench coat he was wearing. He thought he looked pretty good in it no matter what time or place he wound up. "Too shady looking? Do I come off as a bad influence to parents?" He leaned in a little closer to her and feigned self-consciousness as he dared to ask, "Does it make me look….fat..?"

That finally made Caligo look his way, brow furrowed as if trying to gauge just how seriously she should take his questions before answering. She had been planning on ignoring him until they'd gotten to the workshop to explain the travel ban since it wasn't more than two floors above the generator room, but then she remembered that the lift ride up would be at least two minutes of either more strange questions or varying degrees of asinine conversation. Awkward silence didn't seem to be much of an option with him, she noticed.

Ignoring everything before the mention of the kind of message his clothes gave off, she got into the large lift with him and the drones carrying his ship with the firm desire to avoid either of the predicted outcomes. "In the last few decades, the planet has become subject to constant and sporadic waves of energy given off by solar flares. It makes using many forms of technology such as vehicles and even medical equipment dangerous because of the possibility that they'll cease function at an inopportune moment."

Brief as her explanation was, the Doctor's need to thoroughly examine the lift and the given information was enough to keep him occupied until they reached the workshop floor. Windows along the polished chrome corridor leading to the actual work area provided an almost scenic view of Pillar from snow covered Blackridge. Caligo suddenly recalled the discussion she had with the architect of the observatory when she requisitioned the addition of her workshop and how he justified the need for so many windows as a tactical advantage.

 _You're up here all alone. What're you going to do if someone suddenly comes up for something like…a…surprise inspection! Yes, that's it, a surprise inspection! Do you really want to leave your commanding officer out in the snow? Or what if the power goes down in Pillar and they can't contact you? You'd be holed up here and you'd never know a thing like a shut in!_ The memory sparked just a hint of irritation at the man, something she noticed hadn't quite diminished over the years. Her workshop was supposed to be her private space where she had no other and he had the audacity to actually think she hadn't thought of such situations?

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back toward the Doctor who was still peering out the windows as the drones brought the Tardis inside.

"Seems to be plenty of bright lights and signs on for a city this big that's under a tech restriction. Hard to believe that anything's wrong down there just by looking at it."

"To my knowledge, nothing is wrong in the city at the moment. Pillar's power grid is set to its lowest possible failsafe mode to ensure minimal damage and impact on the people if it goes down for any reason. The idea of that is to encourage people to leave their homes or communities less frequently since they'll still have power and general comforts of living. Less travel means less chance of disasters or emergency situations occurring, at least in theory. The statistics show that this has worked so far. My job now is to improve the solar shields orbiting the planet so that we won't need such extreme measures."

"Right. So that's what was going on up there." He finally followed her inside the workshop, more sterile white and chrome walls and equipment all over the place. "Not much color in here I see…" The room itself was large enough to give him a good amount of exercise just strolling around him and there was a variety of machinery and equipment strewn about the room. "Sort of an organized mess?"

"Not a mess. I know where everything is when I need it and so do my drones and that's all that matters. No one else works in here but us." The big blue police box stood out in the center of the room facing a large computer monitor where all sorts of information was scrolling by on it. Information on the Tardis as he soon realized and that was certainly a reason to be alarmed. It wasn't every day that human technology could identify so much about a Time Lord ship and what made it worse was that he hadn't even seen her or those little drones scan his ship the entire way down here. If the Tardis was in fact damaged, then it was vulnerable.

"Oi. How are you getting all of that data? Is it your drones?"

"Just a basic scan. The drones mostly keep to themselves unless I instruct them otherwise. They just set your ship down on the work pad which also happens to be a scanner… Your ship is alive. I'm not about to do anything that'll make it uncomfortable if it isn't necessary." Caligo had just a very small portion of her attention span on him at this point, the information the scan gave her on the alien craft far more interesting than its pilot currently and she would probably never admit something like this aloud, but the Tardis left her nearly speechless.

The Doctor definitely noticed the look on her face when she saw the data her scanner had picked up from the Tardis. It wasn't really anything of consequence but what made him grin was the doe eyed wonder filled stare she held unintentionally as she tried to make sense of what she was looking at. He'd seen the same volumes of information confuse, discourage and frustrate many others who had tried to comprehend it, maybe even driven them mad. He knew of those who hated nothing more than not understanding something and those whose wonder turned to desire, envy and greed when they finally did. When she finally found something that she could understand, she looked worried and now again he wondered about what she might have found. Curiosity always got the better of him in times like this and a small part of him couldn't help the kick he got from surprising her with his attitude.

"Well…It does look like the flare did something to your navigation system before you got onto the planet. That's an easy fix even on a ship like this, but it's bound to happen again if you leave the atmosphere. Maybe even worse if you're not being careful. If you had your own shield system against this sort of thing then it really wouldn't be a problem." Caligo bit down gently on her lower lip, a habit she had picked up a long time ago but barely ever caught herself doing when she was thinking. _I could help them out easily… Installing that shield system would be child's play but it's supposed to be used for emergency situations concerning the planet…_ "Although, those shields aren't equipped for that scale of work. They really could only shield a ship at best right now," she murmured under her breath.

"Now what is it that you're thinking of doing to my ship?"

Her gaze snapped upward in alarm and the young woman quickly leaned back at the realization that the Doctor was practically hovering over her shoulder while she had been lost in thought.

"A shield system, eh," he asked, finding her spot on the data files screen, "That's not a half bad idea..."

"That's all it is. An idea. This equipment belongs to the Central military engineering corps. I can't give it to you." Caligo's arms crossed over her chest as if she'd given him a deciding answer in an argument that they may or may not have been having. The Doctor, seeing her challenge, shrugged and stuck his hands back into his coat pockets like it didn't bother him in the slightest.

"You're right. Besides, there's no telling if it would work or not and then where would I be?" The Doctor purposely kept his gaze on the screen but he could feel hers intensify.

"I know what you're trying to do," she replied stiffly, "and it won't work. You really must be an alien if you honestly think these shields won't work." Her expression hardly changed but inside she clearly recognized the haughty attitude she had suddenly gained and quickly dialed it back. It didn't do her any good to know what his game was if she couldn't keep herself from playing it. But by the sound of it, he was challenging her abilities as a **human** engineer and that was something that hadn't happened in years. _I'm smarter than this. He's not going to play my ego._

"You're right."

The only indication that she was surprised by him was how many times she blinked-he counted about four-and the drop in her scowl. The barest hint of a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips but he fought it off well enough for the moment. This woman was skeptical but had a curiosity that he liked and he didn't want to scare her off, although something told him that scaring her would take a lot more than smiling like he knew one of her dirty little secrets. "You're smart so I'm not going to try any tricks on you and I am in fact an alien," he said proudly, "So how about we trade? You let me borrow those shields for now so I can get to where I wanna go and I'll take you along on a little…trip!"

"Mhm… Where exactly?"

Skepticism tinged with curiosity. She wanted to know what he was promising her and how he could deliver on it but he could see that impulse of just jumping into the fray with him gleaming in her eyes. The Doctor honestly didn't know how she managed to hide it but she couldn't hide it well enough and he couldn't stop the grin this time. "Wherever you'd like," he answered with the utmost confidence. "There's lots of places to see, alien races and technologies you couldn't even begin to imagine and you're not going to see them by sitting around here on Earth in your chilly little observatory, lieutenant."

Caligo quirked a brow at him, arms crossed firmly and still looking skeptical despite the foreign nagging feeling at the back of her mind urging her to do something risky, act on a mere impulse for once. She did her very best to shove it somewhere in the back of her mind where such a crazy idea belonged, lock it away again with reason and logic. "I won't go as far as entertaining the idea of abandoning my post. I have a job to do and there are people counting on me." Her decision was adamant. She could never find it in herself to turn her back on her appointed duty but she couldn't fend off the feeling that she would always regret turning down such an opportunity. _Regret. There's an odd thing…_

The Doctor's enthusiasm didn't waver despite what should've sounded like a clear no, but it was easy to tell that even Caligo wasn't entirely convinced by her answer. "Oh well, then I guess it's a good thing my ship isn't **just** any plain old spaceship. You saw it yourself on your scan." He took half a step closer and gestured toward the text filled screen, his voice dropping to what she could only describe to be akin to the purr of a predator who knew they had their quarry in a favorable position and was doing little more than waiting for her to try to make a break for an opening that was clearly a trap. Three words.

Three simple words was all that he needed and what made matters worse was that she knew what they were. Somehow she just knew and she hated how they simplified the question and the answer. "Talk, and you'll be sorry for it."

Not even the steel in her voice could wipe the grin off his face. Oh yes, the Doctor knew he would win this argument hands down and he honestly doubted that either of them would be very upset when he did. He was standing behind her again and she still refused to budge. Stubborn, something that reminded him of a few choice people and that made the victory seem that much more satisfying. "Aren't you curious?"

 _He sounds so damn amused,_ she thought to herself, but he was right. She was curious. Very curious. If there was one thing she could never escape no matter how she tried, it was that damnable curiosity. Caligo had always needed a better half to reign her in… "You're implying that you can simply take me away from my post and bring me back again without anyone noticing…"

"That and a whole lot more and I can tell…" He swept back around into her line of sight, still grinning. "…You want to believe me. It's true. The perks of having your own time machine you know. I can take you anywhere, anytime you like and bring you right back to Blackridge in a heartbeat, give or take a few minutes. So what do you say, lieutenant Valgus?"

"Lieutenant." Wilhelm swooped down between them suddenly, the bright green ring glowing on the front of his shell staring her in the face. "It is against protocol to leave your post without permission from a superior officer and you will be classified as AWOL if you take leave without authorization. The penalty for this is severe." It sounded like a threat in the Time Lord's mind, but he saw the lieutenant give just the barest hint of a smile and place a hand on the shell of the steel blue drone.

"You heard the man, Wilhelm. He's got a time machine and we're supposed to be experts in alien technology. How can I pass up the opportunity to give us an edge on our colleagues? You've got my authorization override code. I don't think I need to ramble it off to you." She turned toward the computer screen again and gestured as if she were grabbing something from it. Wilhelm seemed to regard her for a moment until she turned and thrust the hand that made the grasping gesture toward the Tardis. The image of what the Doctor assumed to be holographic blueprints for the aforementioned shield system suddenly projected itself onto the sides of the police box and Caligo stood in front of him facing her fleet of engineer drones, hands on her hips and standing proud. "What're we waiting for? Let's get to work boys!" The sight of the dispersing drones certainly was impressive and she was definitely proud of her team. "Before, you said you were the doctor," she started, watching the beginnings of construction like she had so many times before. "Doctor who?"

The Doctor's grin returned full force when he heard the question. It was just one of the things he loved to hear when he met new people. "Just the Doctor," he answered as casually as he could manage.

" _Just_ the Doctor?"

" _Just_ the Doctor."

"Well then, Doctor…" Caligo cast a glance upward, her faint smile lingering like a ghost on her lips as she regarded the man and all the promises he had made just a few minutes ago. "Our first trip had better be somewhere amazing because I'm a hard woman to impress."

He hummed thoughtfully at her words. _Be careful lieutenant, because that sounded like a challenge._


	2. Chapter 2

Woo! Getting better at this every time. Not really though. Regardless though, second chapter and hopefully I'll be able to keep this pace up but we'll definitely see! I may turn this into a biweekly post in hopes of getting back to my Hetalia units story for YenKin's sake haha.

Thanks again to NicoRide, Ghost, Yel, Yen and Killer for helping me to beta read this story and make sure I do my best to stay in character for the 10th Doctor. Constructive notes/comments/reviews are always appreciated and thanks again for everyone's support!

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"Ready?"

"Doctor, the repairs have been finished for nearly twenty minutes now. I'm more than ready and I'm beginning to think that you're just stalling."

"I'm not, I promise. Cross my hearts."

Caligo was half tempted to question him about that "cross my hearts" nonsense but quickly remembered that he was an alien. He might look human on the outside, but just like any spacecraft, who knew what he had under the hood. She shook her head to banish the thought before following him almost impatiently toward his ship. Her tech drone Wilhelm and a hotrod red engineer drone hovered just behind her shoulders, waiting almost as expectantly as she was for the Doctor to open the door. He looked like a madman with a grin like that in her opinion.

"You really are curious, aren't you," he asked, grinning like a sly fox. He noted the way her right foot shifted slightly as if she were trying very hard not to show that she was getting tired of waiting. There was no missing the twitch of her right brow, a clear sign of irritation and impatience. The Doctor didn't stop Caligo when she suddenly stepped forward and opened the door herself before freezing in her tracks. Those big, dark doe eyes showed up again and honestly, if this was the look she always got when she was shocked then he was going to have to find ways to keep amazing her. He felt his hearts thrum with excitement in his chest as he waited for the shock to wear off enough for her to speak again, knowing just what she would say next.

What they always said.

"Amazing," she whispered, one hand still on the handle of the door and the other slowly reaching up to rest against the frame. Even if she still stood in the doorway she took in everything she could see, yearning but not daring to take a single step further for a menagerie of reasons that swirled in her head like a violent whirlpool rattling her skull. Excitement and apprehension flooded her body and the skirmish locked her entire body in place. It even made speaking a challenge. Was she really about to entertain the idea of an alien that just popped up in the heart of her home taking her to see a planet that she's never heard of and bring her back to the exact same spot and time?

"No need to be shy. You can come inside!" He gave her the little push she needed to break free of her apprehension and take her first steps inside, taking carefully measured steps so they wouldn't collide as she spun around to take everything in. The two drones had followed her inside without hesitation before the TARDIS door could shut on them and kept close to the lieutenant. The Doctor was still watching, waiting…

"Your ship," she started uncertainly. Caligo stopped near the console and looked down at the ground beneath her feet before slowly letting her gaze rise with her arms and tentatively feel the open space around her. She could still hardly believe what she was seeing and feeling – or rather what she could almost feel. It should've been impossible for a ship this small to be… "It's bigger…inside…?"

"Brilliant observation lieutenant. It most certainly is."

She glanced down at him for a moment before her eyes snapped back up to the roof of the TARDIS at what sounded to be a low groan of sorts. "Your ship is groaning?"

"It's more like a purr, really."

"Your ship is purring…" The drones were suddenly focused solely on her when she dropped her arms and gaze again, breathing deeply as her mind slowly began to process the fact that the Doctor's ship was defying everything she knew and understood about human and alien technology. Her mind wasn't really made for that and it was as if the realization was so overwhelming to her that she was about to shut down like an overloaded computer. Caligo felt her chest tighten and instinctively began to force breaths in faster. She unzipped her jacket as if that would help alleviate the problem and wove her hand into her bangs when a dull pounding began in her right temple...

"Lieutenant?" The Doctor's amusement diminished somewhat when he noticed her unzip her jacket and the drones were watching her like hawks. He quickly pushed himself up from the railing he was leaning against when she brought a hand up to cradle her head and strode over to her, concerned. "Are you not feeling well? You can sit down if you like." She didn't respond and he was sure she could hear him from so close. He lightly placed his hands on her arms, the tension in her muscles easily felt through her jacket, and tried to catch a glimpse of her face or any sign of pain. "Lieutenant Valgus?" The hand on her face twitched in response and he felt her relax all of a sudden. When she finally looked up at him, the doe eyed look of wonder he had been so greatly enjoying was gone without a trace.

"I'm fine now. Apologies for causing you to worry," she answered in that cool, no nonsense tone. It was the same as when he'd first met her probably not more than an hour or two ago.

"You're sure? You looked like you were in pain…"

"It's nothing to be concerned about. I feel fine."

He really didn't care too much for this particular mood of hers. It made her seem too robotic for a human and gave him the chills. Like her personality was so cold that it would give him frostbite if he got too close… He quickly brushed the thought aside and moved toward the console. _As long as she's alright now, that's what matters._ "Well then… You've been in this observatory for, say… A few months now?"

"Seven years, not including reporting to Central Command in person every month and periodic trips into the city for parts or emergency calls."

" **Seven years** _?!_ " He gaped openly at her in disbelief and sheer shock from the statement. "Have you ever heard of something called a vacation? Time off? A break?" Caligo merely shrugged in response and quirked a brow at him when he threw his arms up in exasperation. "Fine then. I know where our first stop will be."

"And that would be where exactly?"

The Doctor was already working furiously at the controls, seemingly hell bent on wherever it was he wanted to take her. "We," he said, throwing a switch and causing the ship to suddenly lurch, "Are going someplace where it's hard to do anything **but** relax." He threw the switch back not a few moments later and gestured for her to follow him out the door. "And leave your little buddies here. No tech or working while you're relaxing. I could feel those knots in your muscles through your jacket for goodness' sake." There was a momentary pause and he turned back to her briefly before taking off his trench coat. "Might not want to walk around with it on actually. It's definitely warmer than Blackridge out there."

Caligo glanced back at the two drones for a moment before giving them a nod and prompting them to go into a sleep mode of sorts. They settled on the floor under the console like a pair of cats curling up for a nap, leaving her to do as she would. "Where are we Doctor," she called after him as they headed out the door. The blaring sun that suddenly illuminated everything around her caused her to momentarily recoil and shield her face. "Why is the sun so bright?"

The Time Lord stood just a few steps in front of her, arms outstretched and letting the rays of the two suns warm his skin. "Nice change from that snowy mountaintop, don't you think? Welcome to Barcelona~" Caligo, having finally gathered her bearings, donned a pair of old fashioned aviator sunglasses and grumbled in response. "You won't be sounding so grumpy after a nice massage I bet- Oh! I like those glasses. Where did you find them?" He leaned down more to her height to get a better look at the tinted brown lenses and even took note of his reflection in them. Caligo quickly leaned away from him when his hand moved toward it, assuming that he would try to take them off.

"These stay on my face until we get inside someplace where there's less sun."

"Could I try them on after?"

"When we get inside," she grumbled again. The Doctor regarded her thoughtfully for a moment while she went ahead and took a look at the resort before them. Maybe the sun was good for her. It brought out that snarky grump from earlier when she was about to slap him for dropping her into a ventilation shaft and that was a welcomed change from the icicle version. "What was the point of bringing me here? There are some reputable resorts back on Earth."

"This is entire planet is like that and so much more~ Come on, let me show you!" The Doctor smiled at her again and offered her his arm to take. It was such a simple gesture and yet he honestly couldn't seem to recall ever seeing someone so confused by it. "Promise I don't bite, lieutenant."

Caligo continued to look between him and his arm, still uncertain of what he wanted her to do. It didn't take long before she picked up that he wanted her to hold onto him or that the offer was at least there if she wanted to. The gesture, she knew, was harmless enough but it made her stomach turn in a way that she simply couldn't ignore. Surely he must think that she was already quite rude and with that in mind, she managed to make herself feel less uneasy when she turned away from him. "I'll assume we're in a civilian environment. You don't have to call me lieutenant," she called over her shoulder as she strode toward the entrance to one of the buildings. Caligo brushed a hand over the skull adorning her rank insignia and it suddenly sank down into the silver, nothing but a faint reflection of it visible only if someone were to look very carefully. She was aware that he was probably confused and maybe even a little put off by her sudden change in mood. Caligo really didn't want to hurt someone who didn't mean her any harm – especially because he didn't know anything about her and quite frankly, she wasn't in the mood for sharing – but she couldn't bother herself with trying to explain things that she didn't even understand about herself.

The Doctor caught up quickly and tapped her on the shoulder, making sure to keep the contact brief. "No no, not that way. Over here~"

"Don't we need to check in or something of the like? I'm sure that it's this way." She pointed to a building whose sign now read "Guest Information" when something dawned on her. "I don't know this language. I'm sure that I don't. How is it that I can read this?"

"Never mind that. It's perfectly fine if we go this way. Trust me, I know my way around here!" Caligo turned to him, ready to give him some sort of lecture about the implications of trespassing and how easy it would be to avoid all of that trouble but all of that caught in her throat when she saw the look on his face. He knew what he was doing. He was eager to have fun and he wanted to share that with her. She felt yet another foreign feeling – an emotion of a different sort, maybe – sweep through her body and the dull throbbing in her skull started again but she quickly pushed it all aside. "I guess it's simpler to just trust your judgment," she nearly sighed, "Although I really would prefer to do things properly."

"Come on lieutenant." The Doctor barely stifled a laugh when she grumbled again in a manner unfitting for someone who seemed to be as uptight as she was. It was fun to push her buttons like this.

"Doctor, I told you. Call me Caligo."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," he answered with a mock salute. He laughed when she grumbled a little louder than before, muttering something about not doing strange things like that and lengthened her stride when he got ahead of her. _Looks like she's got a bit of fire in her after all. I can't imagine why she would be trying to pretend to be so serious all the time_ he mused to himself.

"You're ridiculous. Where are we going anyway? You still haven't answered any of my questions you know."

"I haven't? Well I thought it would be a good idea to warm up after being stuck on that mountain for **seven years** ," he called back to her, words drenched with sarcasm and giving her a pointed look.

Caligo slouched under his gaze and ground her teeth slightly. "I was not **stuck** in the observatory. It's my post. I'm **supposed** to be there."

The Doctor stopped in front of her and turned on his heel, abruptly leaning forward and forcing her to stop short when he held a finger up to her face. "Which is why it's good to get you out of there. If you're going to be traveling with me, you have to be ready to move at a moment's notice and while I see your reflexes aren't bad…" He gestured to her as if to point out the quick stop she did to prevent a collision with his hand and wisely withdrew it from the close proximity to her face when she eyed it like a cat might an unsuspecting mouse. He doubted it a little, but he couldn't be sure if she would be the first companion to make a habit of biting or not. "You're very tense and vulnerable to sunlight by the looks of it. Are you a vampire by any chance?"

He really had to wonder if he'd broken her brain or something to that extent when she remained silent. "Yoohoo…" He waved a hand in front of her face, snapped his fingers a couple of times and even whistled. All Caligo did was sigh heavily and rub at the bridge of her nose just under her sunglasses. "What's the matter? Another headache?"

Her hand left her face and the sunglasses slid down her nose just enough to expose her partial steely gaze, the right eye still covered by that flop of hair she called bangs. "You're saying you brought me to a resort on a planet with two blinding suns to see if I would burn up in the sunlight because you believe vampires exist?"

"Well actually there's nine suns and this was the coolest time of the year which I figured you would appreciate after being stuck in the snow for so long and are you really going to keep wearing that leather jacket because I really think that it's unnecessary."

The young woman's stare only intensified and the Doctor actually felt himself shrink back a little like a child who'd just broken his mother's favorite vase, knowing they were in deep trouble. In his case, it was more like he'd been caught trying to change the subject and that she didn't like his accusations about her clothing.

"And what if I were a vampire, Doctor? You'd let me turn to ash?"

"Oi, that's not what I-" The Doctor was dumbstruck by the sudden realization of what was going on. That hadn't at all been what he had expected from her. In fact, it couldn't have been further from it. He was even more baffled by the smirk that pulled at her lips, the look she gave him that screamed "you don't know anything about me and this is what you get so you'd better watch out before you get burned" and how she strode past him with such gusto. It felt like she took the reins from him and now **she** was in charge of their little adventure. "This is going to be fun," he murmured under his breath before catching up to her.

"I believe you owe me an answer. What are we doing here?" She was busy removing her black leather gloves when she noticed the terrain had changed from stone walkways and some unusual looking grass to white sand. Confused and a little upset with the sand now sticking to her boots, Caligo shook her feet in a vain attempt to rid them of the pesky particles before taking in her surroundings more fully. A large white sand beach lay before them, filled with people and yet it somehow managed to not feel extremely crowded. The tint of her lenses distorted the true colors enough that she actually took them off briefly and let her eyes adjust to the lighting for the sake of clarity. It looked more like a lagoon to her, now that she had a clearer view of it, seeing the stretch of land at the opposite end of the water and ant sized black dots moving along it. What truly caught her attention though was the water. "It's like glass," she stated, turning toward the Doctor as if looking for affirmation and more likely an explanation.

"Sure does. Even more so when you're on the water itself. It is a beach if that's what you're wondering. You see that thin line out there with the little ant looking things scuttling about?"

"I can't begin to tell you how unnerving your analogy is…"

"That's actually a sandbar currently partially submerged. Now the water here is something special. It's so clean that it's just as you said. Like glass. You can see clear to the bottom when the water's still. They have little ferry rides to take you over there if you're not in the mood for walking you know. Lovely juice bar too."

Caligo huffed at the mention of juice and subconsciously wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "A drink does sound a little overdue for me…" Why did this blasted planet have to have two of its nine suns out at once?

"I'm telling you, you really should take that thing off. You're going to give yourself heat stroke with all that heavy winter clothing and that's no good for humans you know," the Doctor chided, tugging lightly on the fuzzy white collar of her jacket.

"Really. I had no idea," Caligo muttered **almost** sarcastically. She finally donned her sunglasses once more and cast a glance up at him. "Where are the ferry rides?"

"We could just walk right over. The tide's not that-"

"Boat," she said with finality and headed toward the dock. The Doctor pouted a little and whether she was aiming to or not, she had him following at her heels.

"But it's more fun that way. Don't you want to see alien fish?"

Caligo grumbled something under her breath that he definitely didn't catch this time and got onto the quaint sail boat, not even turning back to see if he would really follow her. Only a few seconds passed before he decided to stick close to the lieutenant and hopped onto the boat as well. Reading this woman was hard. The Doctor could only identify a few different traits about her aside from her very limited range of emotion and very linear thinking. _How can she be so curious and yet so closed off to new things all around her?_ He stopped to consider that maybe he was doing something wrong this time around. Usually his companions were so easily amazed and often went along with his ideas, save for a few of them but Caligo seemed to be moving in the opposite direction most of the time. She was a soldier and he often pegged them to be the types who followed first and thought about it along the way but she was acting more like a leader than just someone who follows. "Can I ask you something?"

"That depends on what you're asking."

That cheeky side of hers again. "Were you always a lieutenant?"

Caligo cast him a sideways glance at his question and felt her brow furrow slightly. "I haven't been demoted if that's what you really meant to ask. I worked my way up to being a lieutenant. First Lieutenant, in fact, and that means that I don't take orders from **everyone**." The silver insignia flashed in the sunlight as she crossed her arms over her chest, surveying the expanse before her like a lion might their territory. He had no idea how some of these similes came to him when he took a good look at her but they just sort of jumped out at him. Of course, there was something behind each of those things. On one hand she seemed very proud of where she stood, but on the other she might just be looking out for more danger on the horizon. Maybe she wasn't thinking of anything at all and just casually taking in the view.

The Doctor leaned against the railing just a step or two in front of her and looked out at the crystal clear ocean as well. "Do you like being in charge of things?"

"Do you mean to say bossy?"

"Now I didn't say that."

"You're implying it. I don't consciously intend on it. I see a direction that I want to take and I take it. Nothing more or less and certainly not something to read into too much."

"But how do you choose that direction?" The question was easily predictable and she should have seen it coming but the more that she thought about it, Caligo had actually never consciously considered how she made certain decisions. Often times, it was based on logic, a very systematic way of thinking or simply because her superior deemed it to be appropriate and as their subordinate who was she to argue? At least that was how she could remember viewing things. But she couldn't ignore that there had been times, incidents on missions or when she was alone with her work in the observatory when there had been neither a clear cut answer nor someone to tell her which direction to take. She couldn't ignore those moments where she had acted without thinking. Gone left instead of right. Followed the rabbit down the hole. Took the red pill instead of the blue pill. "Do you know where that comes from…?"

It was the Doctor's turn raise a brow at her and so he did, making his confusion plain as the light dancing across the water but she wasn't paying the least bit of attention to him again. "Do I know where what comes from?"

The headache was slowly starting to come on again but Caligo kept her mind as far from the thought of it as she could manage. The small waves that radiated from the boat's movements made her think of the waves of energy that were currently bombarding the shields surrounding the Earth and the readings she might be getting on her computer back at Blackridge. How she should've been there right now instead of with this man who claimed to be an alien and went by the Doctor as a name. How completely insane she would sound if she had someone to regale this experience to and how they would surely have to decommission her permanently and how definitely not ready she was for that to happen. It took a few more minutes before she remembered that she wasn't alone and that she had in fact asked him a question she just might get an answer to this time. "Where did those sayings come from. The white rabbit and falling down a hole, choosing between the red pill and the blue pill…"

"Pills?"

"Why is a rabbit hole always used as such an…artistic way of describing amazement, curiosity, wonder…"

"Wonder and rabbit holes…?" A hand rubbed at his chin as he thought and suddenly his eyes lit up. "Lewis Carroll."

"Who?"

"Lewis Carroll. The author of Alice in Wonderland. It's a children's book! My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that," he suddenly sang with a smile, "Wonderful, mad book. Did you read it as a child?" The smile couldn't have fallen faster when he saw her finally shake her head perhaps almost in dismay. "How did you know that then? Someone been spoiling the story for you?"

"I'd never even heard of it until you mentioned it…" Their boat had come to a stop on the sand bar with a gentle thud and Caligo momentarily forgot about her aversion to walking in the water with her boots on as she stepped off. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone ever speak about it either. It's not something that we…being what we are, take part in, idle conversation. Not in my time. That's considered a very "civilian" thing to do…"

"I get the feeling that interacting with civilians isn't something you're allowed to do?"

"It's a social taboo, not an actual rule…" To her, she was being very plain. Obvious, even. But she supposed that it was the fact that he looked very much like a human that she forgot that he was in fact an alien and she guessed that the time traveling bit meant that he didn't usually spend too long in any particular era or even a place other than his ship. He didn't know. He didn't **need** to know. In fact, she preferred that he didn't know. _Maybe this is why we never really got along with normal people…_

As if sensing her shift in mood and the lack of a desire to further discuss her ability to reference things she'd never heard of before, the Doctor jumped onto the shore with her and gave her a friendly slap on the back. "Well come on now. Alien fish," he exclaimed and headed further along the shore. There was something endearing about his enthusiasm that she just couldn't place her finger on but it couldn't beat the sudden aching in her feet she hadn't noticed before. Up until that moment she had never realized just how cold the observatory actually was and how much she could actually feel now that she **had** some semblance of feeling in her extremities. Caligo had been up on her feet constantly even hours before the Doctor had shown up and her feet seemed to be more than tired of it.

"Well. He was right about the juice bar." The sand bar was short and she was fairly confident that she wouldn't lose him if she just sat down to rest for a moment… The…worker attending the bar gave her a friendly smile.

"What'll it be, ma'am?"

Something a little familiar at last. Caligo drew back the level of her steely gaze and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "Surprise me."

How long did it take two suns to set on an alien planet? Caligo really wished she had asked before sitting down at the juice bar because now that it was starting to get dark, she realized that she had lost track of the Doctor and had no idea how long it had been since he'd last checked in with her. "The man's the only alien here that resembles a human as far as I know so how hard can it be to find him," she quietly reassured herself. She took one last sip of her smoothie and reluctantly returned it to the current bar attendant on shift. She didn't want to even bother counting the number of empty cups that were sitting on the counter by her seat. The Doctor had made a rather humorous excuse to get her out of the mess of paying for all of it… It turned out that a not-so-quick rest and something in her stomach had been just what she needed to pull herself out of her grumpy stupor and now that she thought about it, she realized that she might not have been the most amiable traveling companion to the Doctor. Hell, she could hardly remember the last time she went traveling anywhere with anyone for nothing but the fun of it and maybe, just maybe, she'd forgotten how to interact with normal people. Does one normally feel guilty about such revelations? If so, then it hardly phased her, but she did feel the need to make some form of amends for this. After all, she must've at least owed him that much. The trip itself was compensation for the repairs to his ship. He really shouldn't have had to put up with this semblance of a poor mood as much as he did…

"And yet, you did," she murmured, starting out along the shoreline of the sand bar where she remembered last seeing him, "I'll never understand someone who goes through so much trouble. Not fully, at least…" But something in the back of her mind made her feel as if it would be better that she tried. After all, she was a smart woman. Surely she wasn't incapable of it. Surely she could manage to find some way of reading him so that she could respond appropriately…

Surely she wasn't completely incapable of being human.

Slapping herself was definitely an option when she foolishly pulled back the right sleeve of her jacket and looked at the time. It was set to follow Pillar's time zone, not…wherever the flying hell they were now and he _still_ hadn't told her so much as the name of the planet they were on. "Two suns… Two **fucking** suns and suddenly it's dark and he's wandered off I can only imagine where while I'm wandering off even further I don't even know where **looking for him** …" Caligo was very glad that she had ignored his suggestion of leaving her jacket in the TARDIS because she definitely caught wind of the drop in temperature. As she had expected, the beach was very cold at night, probably as it would've been on Earth and when she considered the fact that she had just come from a snow covered mountaintop she wondered if the warm sun really had that much of an effect on her. _I never realized how cold the cold could be until I felt warm,_ she thought.

The watch was checked again if only for the sake of gauging how long she had spent searching for him. Only about half an hour but if this place was so small then how could she have lost him so easily? Briefly, the thought of aimlessly calling out for him crossed her mind but years of training that reinforced the need for stealth especially in densely populated areas wouldn't allow her to raise her voice. What seemed to be night on this planet had now comfortably settled in around her and while she appeared to be completely unfazed by everything around her, she could easily feel a chill creeping up her limbs toward her torso and the spray of the tide slowly drawing nearer sting the back of her hands. Without even realizing it, she had strayed so far from the small juice bar and the dock they had initially arrived at that they were nothing more than dimly lit blips on the dark horizon. It was only then that she realized that she didn't quite know where she was going and two facts struck her hard:

One, that she was walking around blindly in near total darkness – she had a very good feeling now that there were no moons or at least none that made a difference in such darkness on this planet – with nothing but a slowly rising tide and the sight of bright lights in the distance to guide her steps. The spray of the ocean hit her skin again, making her entire body tense. Caligo was by no means adverse to the element itself, but large bodies of water had always been her downfall. She could never figure out why it was that she sank like a rock doing even the simplest things like floating when anyone else could do it so easily and when she tried to actually swim, it took a great and ridiculous amount of work that was usually less than helpful. Walking blindly through an ocean alone unsettled her.

Two, and probably the thought that gave her a sort of sinking feeling in her stomach now, the Doctor had been out looking at the marine life along the shore. She hadn't seen him since he had told her he was going to look at some of the forming tide pools some ways away from the juice bar and at the time, she didn't see a problem with it. But the thought that maybe he was in the same predicament as she currently was put a deep frown on her face. She didn't have the slightest idea of whether or not he could swim, if he had taken the boat back some time ago and forgot about her or maybe he had entertained the idea of walking back since she wasn't there to pester him about ruining his clothes. _What if he had walked back alone in the dark?_

It was by far the worst thought she could come up with, not including the logical train of thought that simply went off the rails from that point on, and Caligo did not like it in the least. Alien or not, the Doctor was still technically a civilian in her mind and her obligation was to serve the corps and protect civilians. Of course, it really only applied to the civilians that inhabited the city of Pillar, but her location in relation to her duty was a moot point. "The Doctor is a civilian. Draugr protect civilians. It's my job to protect him," she told herself with conviction she hadn't needed in a long time. Her stride broke into a sprint as she headed toward the lights in the distance and kept a watchful eye out for anyone lost in the darkness with her. "Doctor!"

The Doctor stood on the dock back on the other side of the beach staring out into the dark horizon. He'd accidentally wandered all the way back to the resort where they had started and before he knew it, the suns had set. It hadn't felt like that long ago that he checked up on her at the juice bar but the time certainly did fly on this planet. Every last boat coming back from the little sand bar had been thoroughly inspected by him for any sign of her, hoping that her level headed need to do things the "proper way" would lead her to come back the safest way possible but each group of tourists turned up nothing. The last boat had docked and only the captain and a handful of employees had disembarked. Caligo may have been a smart woman, but he had started to worry when the tide had begun to rise. The wind by the shore whipped his coat and hair around wildly, without care. Maybe she hadn't left the juice bar when she noticed the evening settling in? It really had been a task to separate her from the smoothies when he'd tried to talk to her earlier. "Fourteen glasses… She's got to be sick of those smoothies by now…" That didn't really matter much to him though. At least if she were still there drinking them he could just hop back into the TARDIS and pick her up. He had just turned his back to the shore to do just that when he heard it.

"Doctor!"

Over the strong wind around him, he heard her call out and almost didn't recognize it at all. Seemingly from the darkness, Caligo ran up to him looking almost out of breath. Her dark hair was ruffled by the wind and everything from her knees down looked to be soaking wet. Most noticeable of all was the worried frown on her face and the way it dramatically lightened when she caught sight of him. "You're here," she panted.

"What happened with you? Why didn't you come back on the boat? Your clothes are wet. Did you run all the way back here?" She would probably hate the barrage of questions but he just couldn't shut his mouth. His most worrisome fears were probably true and here he had the best possible outcome: she had found her way back to him, safe and sound. "Caligo!" The Doctor lunged forward to catch her but promptly missed his mark when she suddenly fell back onto the sand, eyes closed and chest heaving as she caught her breath. Fatigue. She'd run all the way back from that sand bar to the resort and now she was tired. He liked running just as much as the next person but even that distance, fighting the tide in the dark would make him a little tired too. Caligo raised a lazy hand, telling him she just needed a minute to rest and he couldn't help laughing. "Oi. Don't fall asleep here. I got us a room so get up and march off to bed, soldier."

Caligo grunted at him in acknowledgement and pulled herself up from the ground a moment later, looking drained and grumpy once again. Without even a general direction to go on, she lightly slapped his shoulder and stumbled toward the lodge. He had expected her to be at least a little put off when he realized that he'd left her behind and maybe she was, but they could always have that discussion in the morning. "One room," she asked, her voice gruff and maybe a little scratchy from the salty air.

"Just one. All I could manage for such a busy season but you don't need to worry." Caligo was definitely expecting more of an explanation but was tired enough to wait until they'd gotten to the door of the room for him to simply press his palm against what looked to be a scanner pad displaying the room number and open it. "I don't really need to sleep. Might just lounge, pace, roam the halls. Things like that."

She mumbled something that sounded like "impressive" as she took one last look at the door before closing it and surveying the room. The best word she could come up with to describe it was circular or maybe cylindrical, for there wasn't a single corner to be seen. Not even the furnishings had straight edges to them and everything had a sort of floral or plant like patterning to it. Short green plant vines hung from the ceiling with colorful flowers at the ends and a few of them emitted a soft, natural glow. The bed felt soft, like sleeping on one of the squishy marshmallows she'd had in one of maybe a dozen smoothies she'd had earlier in the day and it had never felt better than at that moment… Caligo threw herself across the width of the bed without a second thought and while the Doctor might have been irked about her falling asleep in the middle of his… rant, maybe? Pointless to try to define it now. If he were irked by it, she wasn't awake to hear it. If he had a problem with the way she took up at least half the bed with her awkward sleeping position he could always simply shove her onto the floor.

The Doctor caught himself midsentence when heard the thud of his companion collapsing onto the bed and saw that she was out in mere moments. He couldn't blame her. It had been a long day full of twists and turns that, while unanticipated, she had navigated rather well in his opinion for someone who seemed so uncomfortable and unwilling to step outside those lines drawn around her. But maybe, if she stayed on with him long enough, she would come to realize exactly that; they were just lines drawn on the ground around her, not walls or barriers. He pulled her up onto the bed so that she was in some semblance of a normal sleeping position and went on to poke and prod the flowers hanging off the ceiling as quietly as he could.


	3. Chapter 3

Yikes. Wall of text, here we come. It's just a little early but I've got a long day ahead of me and was on a roll. I'll most likely keep posting for this story until I get my head around writing in my Hetalia units story again. It's an older style I haven't worked with for a long time and at the same time, I'm debating if I should change it all together. It wasn't exactly the most effective way to write but then comes the problem of how to write to make it feel like it's in a specific person's point of view?

Thanks again to all my beta readers for helping me with this!

Disclaimer as always. Goodness. Do I have to write one every chapter or can I say it once and be done?

* * *

 _Do you sleep well at night? Ever?_

While there might have been no sunlight to speak of entering the room, Caligo eventually woke feeling about as well rested as she normally did on any given day back at Blackridge. The room seemed to still be lit by the strange, glowing flowers hanging off the ceiling and once again, the Doctor was nowhere to be found. As she sat up and stretched her stiff muscles, she almost felt a need to ask herself if she wasn't actually still back at her post like she ought to have been, dreaming very lucidly at this point. The idea that she had abandoned her duties for some madman stumbling about the universe in a box sounded unbelievably preposterous to her even now, but the décor of the room and the slight strain in her neck told her that this was her current reality. "One step at a time, lieutenant," she scolded herself softly as she got off of the bed. Caligo discarded her jacket and gloves before heading toward what seemed to be a bathroom and hopefully a shower. She hoped for ample time to figure out how to work what she assumed to be alien technology before the Doctor found his way back to their room because not being able to figure out one's own shower was still about as demeaning to her as any other person.

It went without saying, when she came out not long after, that her scenario had played out more or less exactly as she thought it would. There sat the man in the steel blue suit at the edge of the bed right next to her jacket, gloves and boots. He had a small ceramic mug of tea in his hands and what looked like a newspaper, or at least whatever passed for one in these parts. The Doctor didn't even need to look up to know that she was staring at him, but he couldn't even guess what sort of look it was like he could with most normal humans. "Sleep well?"

"It did its job," she answered. Caligo retrieved her jacket from beside him on the bed and threw it back on, not the least bit perturbed about needing to wear the same clothing again. It was something that, while she had never consciously thought about, she had become desensitized to, thanks to many other instances. She could've cared less about the social implications of it as well if it ever came up in conversation. All business as usual, she turned to him and asked, "Where to next?"

The Doctor finally glanced up from the paper – titled the Saturn Sojourn, she noticed. Where did he find things like this? – mid sip of his tea as if he were actually caught off guard by the question. "What's the matter? Don't care for spas?" He finally completed his sip and Caligo took notice of his glasses.

"I'm surprised those don't fog up," she gestured briefly to his face, "And it isn't that I'm not fond of it. It just isn't my element per say. You did mention alien technologies and this is probably the one place I've been that has very little of it I must say."

"Nice change of pace for you, I thought. But maybe you're right." He got up and placed the mug down on a small table next to the head of the bed before straightening out his suit. "Maybe it was a little too much too fast for a first time trip? Or more likely than not, just out of your time period."

She caught the jab at her lack of tolerance for the quite literally alien environment and shot him a barely concealed look of irritation that he pretended not to catch. The Doctor folded the paper, tucked it under his arm and motioned for her to follow him. "Back to the city then~"

"You mean Pillar?"

"Well if you really want to, I suppose we could…"

Caligo scowled at him just a little and gave him a look as if to say 'really? What do you think?' "No. I was simply curious. Pillar is often referred to simply as 'the city' so I suppose that's a reflexive mistake on my part. But I don't want go back with you withholding your end of the agreement."

"Can't get anything past you," he half admitted with a grin. He sincerely meant it, though he hadn't been trying to pull any tricks. "So let's get going before you faint from sheer anticipation~"

"Something like that can't make me…!" She stopped short as he suddenly strolled out of the room, prompting her to follow. His strides were much longer than hers, now consciously aware of it when she finally caught up to him. "Doctor, I'm not about to faint from anything. I feel fine. I'll adapt just fine." _Minus the attitude_ she thought irritably.

That was something she really needed to work on if she was going to be traveling with him for an extended period of time. Ah, there it was. Another thing she had neglected to address both with him and herself before she had hopped onto this crazy train. Just how long was she planning on staying with him? As they entered the Tardis again, she glanced at the Doctor and took note of the ever present excitement and amusement on his face when he began doing some strange thing or another with the ship's controls.

Caligo carefully began to search for all the variables in the situation: Her effect on him. His effect on her. Time: how long did they have? The sheer differences between them in both biological and personality aspects. Their skills? Well, she couldn't quite be sure of what he had up his sleeve and she was never fond of the habit of assuming things. Then there was the fact that he was a civilian and that directly affected her in a major way. _The primary function of a Draugr is to protect and fight the battles that civilians can't or won't. The Doctor has no military rank and therefore is a civilian no matter which way I look at it. I'm still part of the Earth armed forces, more or less… Therefore…_

"My primary function, when I am around you, is to keep you safe from harm," she concluded just barely aloud.

"Did you say something?" He threw the switch down before turning to face her with once swift and fluid motion, that boyish smile still stuck on his face.

"No, Doctor. You might be imagining things." He had told her in the very beginning that his ship was a time machine which made the time portion of her equation virtually pointless. All the time in the universe was more than she would possibly ever need. All that time meant that she could go back whenever she wanted. Time wasn't an issue with him.

How did she affect him? She would be a voice of logic and reason, she figured. This man may be a genius alien of sorts but just because one was intelligent doesn't mean one is smart. There were certain things that science didn't equip one to handle and she while had learned that lesson so long ago it had carved out its own personal hovel in her mind where it couldn't possibly be forgotten. How did she truly affect the Doctor? Only time would tell - if they had that much together - and with some semblance of an answer to that question, she moved on to what should've been a simpler one.

How did he affect her? It had only been perhaps about a day but, while she was sure the effect wouldn't be limited to this alone, she had determined that one of the greatest effects he could ever have on her was causing tension, frustration, general concern and a worrying curiosity. He was also reintroducing her to culture and socializing with the general population that didn't rely solely on strict rules and regulations to give their lives some sort of order.

Caligo felt an intense urge to correct the statement her instructors had drilled into them during training: There was no survival if one didn't follow the orders given to them. That was how they survived war. Conflict. That was why Pillar existed. Yet that was probably also why the city's population was often filled with discontent. The Doctor, she already had a feeling, wanted her to believe that there was more to life than simply working. More to life than eating, drinking and sleeping. Caligo had seen many places, met many individuals and indeed knew that there was a fundamental difference between surviving and **living**. The Doctor was perhaps the most 'alive' individual she had ever met and in this respect, Caligo might have sincerely hoped for what must have been the first time in her entire life that she would **not** have any sort of impact on someone's rebellious and debatably childish spirit. Things just wouldn't be the same. The Doctor wouldn't be the same.

Speaking of same, was there even the slightest similarity between them other than that they both looked humanoid? She knew nothing of his physiology except that he was clearly male and she female. Their tastes in activity, clothes, food, hobbies and just about everything else were drastically – almost painfully – different from one another. How long, she wondered, would they last together when she merely wanted to look at technology and he wanted to frolic in the forest with six-legged deer or something equally free-spirited and plausible?

Skills. She had a plethora of mechanical, biological and technological skills from which she could pick and choose as she pleased, not including her combat training and… other skills she had picked up during her active duty service.

The Doctor? He was clever and perhaps his personality wasn't always so… Rude. Rude was honestly the only thing that came to her mind other than sassy but then again, she knew that some civilians found such behavior endearing or amusing. He was a social person. She was not. That was something that could work out very nicely if they worked out some team dynamics.

The Doctor wasn't sure what to make of the way she leaned against the railing in such an unstable stance while the Tardis was on the move and the blank stare she kept with an ever growing frown. In truth, he was beginning to worry that she might actually not be enjoying herself and her grumpy attitude was far more transparent than she probably thought. "You've been awfully quiet over there. What's on your mind?"

Her response to him had been immediate and she shook her head in his direction with little hesitation. "I'm merely trying to put a number on my time here. I know how to work with numbers and once I have all of my information sorted out I can find the missing variable and move on from there."

He half snorted, trying and failing miserably to hide how ridiculous he thought she sounded just then. How long had it been since he traveled with someone who acted so much like a computer? His laugh certainly hadn't been appreciated but he just couldn't help it. "Y'know, when you say it like that I feel like something doesn't…" He paused and his grin grew wider.

"Doctor, if you say-"

"Compute _~!"_

Caligo rubbed at the bridge of her nose with an exasperated sigh and shook her head. What an awful joke to make! What's worse is that he sounded like he had more ready for her too! A muttered 'unbelievable' was lost under his laughter and objecting to her lacking a sense of humor punctuated the stopping of the Tardis. They'd arrived, wherever it was.

"So since you like numbers and computers so much I thought this might make you feel a little more comfortable."

Caligo might've doubted him a little even though she was fairly sure that he couldn't be _that_ thick and waited almost expectantly for him to open the door.

"Behold, Miss Engineer!"

Just like their first stop, Caligo was forced to shield her eyes from the bright light outside the doors. Only this time, the light didn't have that same pleasant warmth as the suns at the resort. It might've even felt a little...cold? Regardless, none of that stopped her from stepping out into the alien metropolis that greeted them. There were buildings as far as the eye could see. Each one varied in size and height yet even the humblest looking structure still managing to make her existence seem insignificant, towering over crowds of people like the forests of the Amazon. Glaring sunlight reflected off of the chrome exterior of the skyscrapers, forcing her to use both hands to cope with the overwhelming brightness.

Something strategically placed just above her brow landed gently on the back of her hands and when she moved them aside to see what it was, her sunglasses fell onto her face. It took a couple of blinks to adjust to the minute lack of light but when she finally did she noticed that she could see everything – including the ocean of people parting around the Tardis like the Red Sea.

She looked up at the Doctor who seemed to have seen the need for eye protection as well and found a pair of sunglasses for himself. To her, they looked like a pair of poorly made plastic sunglasses that civilian businesses handed out for free for the sake of advertising. She supposed that he couldn't quite see the scrutinizing look thanks to her glasses and smiled at her.

"Like them? Got these from a cereal box mail-in thing when I visited the late 90's. Junior spy edition. Look! It's even got little mirrors on the sides of the lenses so you can see behind you without needing to turn around~ It's a bit crude nowadays but quite clever for kids, don't you think?"

He turned his back to her, maintaining mock eye contact from the hidden mirrors on his glasses. It definitely made him look a little strange to any passerby, thinking that he might be smiling at them, but neither he nor Caligo took any notice of it.

It took a moment for the lieutenant to formulate what was probably the most acceptable response that would appease him and nodded briefly. "I'm sure children were highly amused by it. Every child must dream of being a super spy at least once in their lives."

"Like James Bond~"

Now who was James Bond? "Yes. Very much so, I would think."

Suddenly it felt as if neither of them were breathing as he continued to stare at her. She could feel it in the space between them, the tension building up until he suddenly spoke.

"You've never even heard of James Bond before, have you?" Caught her red handed. Again.

On instinct, a lie quickly formulated in her mind and managed to get part way out of her mouth before she caught herself. Why was she lying to him? This wasn't an undercover assignment. There was no façade or charade for her to keep up. She was allowed to be herself, whatever that was. _Do I trust him enough to…not lie?_ "Ah, no. I probably haven't. I would most likely have found some way to break him down and analyze the pieces if I had. You most likely wouldn't have enjoyed that."

Most people didn't when you tried to disassemble even the metaphorical as if it were a piece of machinery. It was too cold. Too impersonal. How dare she do that to something that was so coveted by another. It came to her as no surprise when he shook his head, the smile having left him, and turned back around to her.

"Lieutenant Valgus," he addressed with a very serious sounding tone, "You are not at your post. You're off gallivanting across the universe with an alien."

A part of her really did want to ask him the purpose of continuing to point out things that she very well knew.

"That's something that has absolutely nothing and I mean **nothing** to do with work!" The Doctor prodded the insignia on her sleeve with a long finger, causing the malleable alloy to ripple slightly. "So stop acting like a work drone and act more like someone who's on a vacation~"

Her eyes widened slightly when a hint of playfulness poked through his stern façade. That damnable grin seemed to return with full force when he found her to be speechless and once again held his arm out to her like a gentleman.

"But do me a favor and stay close this time, alright? Don't want to be standing on some random beach all night waiting for you to find your way back."

 _I don't want to. I'm perfectly fine on my own. I'm supposed to be the one protecting you._

He was still waiting patiently and as if her mind had simply stopped working up until that point, she hadn't moved an inch.

Caligo was sure that he didn't mean anything beyond keeping her close. She certainly didn't want a repeat of the beach, but the last thing she wanted was to be too close. What was the old saying? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But the Doctor was not her enemy, at least not yet, and so she quickly looped her hand around the crook of his elbow while keeping a respectable distance between them. This much she could bear. "Just so that we have our story straight, it was **you** who wandered off and left me on the sand bar."

"Well then hold on tight to me, right? Allons-y!" It really didn't feel like it mattered who was right or wrong at the moment as long as this particular trip got off on the right foot. "Lots of technology here. Very clean place. Salty sea like the Earth but we're pretty far from the water so no need to worry about being stuck on any sand bars!"

"That is rather high up on the list of traumatizing experiences with water," she told him dryly.

He didn't need to be able to see past her sunglasses to understand the look she was giving him. "Right. Too soon?"

"Can't say that it particularly unnerves me for the moment…"

Neither of them could seem to keep their eyes in one place for a long time as they strolled through the amazingly clean streets. Not even Central could hold a candle to this chrome metropolis. "All this," she gestured vaguely to everything around them, "It's very bright. Feels like metal…"

"It is~"

 _I don't quite like it. It's just too much at once, don't you think?_

"It's like there's no such thing as plants or animals here… I don't even see any dogs walking around with their masters as pets."

"Yeah, I'm not a hundred percent sure about that but they have robotic animals~"

"That can't honestly be considered the same," she muttered indignantly. Somehow, she found that to be extremely unsettling, a belief that machines could replace living entities. Caligo knew full well that this was far from true. Shame on those who think such things and yet here they were, living in one large, technologically advanced mega city.

"No really. You might not be able to tell the difference yourself when you see it! The animatronics are something else you know."

She let him take the reins, taking her wherever it was he wanted and without a doubt it had something to do with these animatronics. Caligo found herself realizing that she really didn't like the idea but couldn't bring herself to say anything. This was what she had asked him for and this was what he was giving to her. The chance to see impressive alien technologies.

Caligo barely suppressed a frown as they entered a shop filled with a variety of animatronic skeletons in the windows and display cases. The hustle and bustle of the outside city was completely cut off, leading her to assume that the shop had some very impressive soundproofing and a gray haired man greeted them with a friendly smile that she just couldn't bring herself to trust.

"Welcome~ Are you kids looking for a pet?"

She managed to keep her incredulous look down to a minimal amount of blinking so as not to put the old man off. Kids? What did they look like to him? He didn't look terribly old himself for someone with hair as gray as his.

"Oh we're just looking around for now thanks," the Doctor quickly answered with a polite smile, patting her hand as if to ease her… Oh, what could he honestly call it? She didn't seem distressed or terribly insulted from what he could tell. But then again, he certainly didn't understand her well enough to assume such things. Best to err on the safe side in this case.

"Why don't we take a look around, eh Cal?"

"Yes, why not." Caligo found herself actually needing to remind herself over and over that she had asked for this. Surely she could manage to be more pleasant about it. _I can feel. I know I can. I just don't find myself feeling a lot…_ It didn't help her any that she knew why this was as well, strange as it seemed. Knowledge was power, but she realized quickly that she didn't have any in the grand scheme of things.

"Cal?"

"Yes?"

"So what do you think?"

"About what?"

He turned to her more fully, a slight frown on his face and a few worry lines showing on his forehead. "Are you alright?"

It was her turn to frown. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Because you've been drifting in and out of conversations ever since we left Barcelona earlier."

So that's where they had been, not that it mattered to her now…

"Now we're here for one of the things you've been dying to see and you're not even paying any attention to them." The slight tilt of his head directed her attention to a small white kitten with little brown paws staring up at her with big, sparking eyes just like any other. The fluffy tail just behind it swayed as it patiently waited for her to acknowledge it.

If the context of the planet and its inhabitants hadn't been given to her when they had first arrived, she might've assumed that he really had taken her to a pet shop. Caligo felt her gaze soften a little when the very real looking animatronic nuzzled her hand and began to purr, desperate for affection. She merely continued to stare, unsure of what to do with the fake realistic animal.

"I'm sorry. Everything makes me think of…something. I've lost the focus I had from when I was in use…" Her hand slowly retracted from the kitten, who mewled sadly and clasped its paws around her wrist. It was almost comical, seeing a kitten dangle from her arm like she sometimes saw on children's artwork on her rare trips to the city. The Doctor caught the kitten before it slipped off her arm and cradled it carefully.

"Well there's nothing wrong with thinking," he said, shrugging and rubbing the ears to console the kitten. "I think a lot too. Different things, places, people… But I find when you do it too much you lose sight of the things around you or you can miss even the slightest detail that turns out to be imperative later on. Things you'd never want to forget in a million years. Like this guy~" He held the kitten up to her face and the furry thing seemed to want to climb on top, trying to get its footing on her nose. She twitched it at the kitten before hesitantly rubbing its ears.

 _It's still…a kitten. It was made that way. It didn't ask to be. It just was and that doesn't put it at fault for what it is…_ It felt silly to need to justify petting a robotic cat, but it made her feel just the slightest bit less unsettled by it. The Doctor was certainly happy to see her giving it a try, and so she found some small comfort in the fact that she managed to at least succeed part way in her goal for the day.

"You wouldn't even know if you were petting a real cat, right~?" He grinned at her, handing the small thing off and wandering off quickly to look at the other animals sitting rigidly on the shelf for the moment.

It wasn't quite true. She could tell, but it wasn't because the feel of the fur was different or the mannerisms of the kitten seemed terribly wrong for it. She supposed that the Doctor didn't need to know unless the situation called for such information to be shared, but real, living animals simply didn't like her. Perhaps they didn't always bite or growl or snarl at her, but they certainly didn't come up and rub against her like this one.

"They say that animals have an innate sense of what is considered evil," she casually mentioned, more aloud simply because she could than to him or anyone else in particular. In fact, Caligo doubted that he had heard her at all with the level of attention he was giving what seemed to be a snake endoskeleton.

It coiled around and slithered up his arm into his coat before coming out the front with his sonic screwdriver in its mouth. He casually plucked it from the robot's tiny mouth and did a quick scan of it. "Most living creatures do, but sometimes that feeling is wrong." Removing the slithering endoskeleton from his coat and replacing it on the shelf, he turned back to her and gestured to the kitten now nestled against her bosom. "These animals don't have that sense. They've got software and hardware that help them assess what's a threat and what isn't and that tells them how they're supposed to react to it. If something goes outside of their program's parameters, they can't do anything about it."

With a sort of reluctance, she handed the furry thing over to him and that too was placed back in its proper place on the shelf. Caligo watched as it suddenly returned to a statue-like state, continuing to stare up at her with those large begging eyes… "As fond of machinery as I am, it's no substitute for the genuine article, even if it isn't what you hope for or expect. I believe that you're trying to show me this, correct?"

The Doctor shrugged again. It was starting to become somewhat of a habit of his… "Just trying to show you something fun and interesting and it just so happened to have come up." He turned to her with that cheeky grin of his, as though he had in fact orchestrated the entire conversation, and added, "But we know where we both stand on the subject, don't we?" He honestly hadn't been making any attempt to lure specific information out of her nor direct the flow of the conversation, at least not consciously. Somewhere in the back of his mind was a tiny voice telling him that he had the power, the skill to direct most anything and that his current company was not among that post-it note list of people who were able to detect it before it was too late, so why not? _I'm not trying to be controlling… I don't do it on purpose. I'm just good at it._ Yet nothing could change the fact that it felt like such a crime to be…

Caligo gave the Time Lord an almost appreciative look as his features quickly adopted what he must've seen in her not moments before and took the chance to commit it to memory. In those few moments, she decided that it was not a look that quite suited him. "I believe it's you who is easily reminded of a great many things, Doctor," she spoke, breaking the ever strengthening hold the deeper confines of his mind seemed to be gaining on him. "You have that look on your face. Like an old man who comes to realize that his grandchildren are growing up and showing him his age."

"I am old… I'm very old…"

She caught a glimpse, brief as it was, of something. Some sort of emotion that she just didn't quite recognize pass over him at the mention of being old. Age and time had an obvious correlation. That, she could see. The effects often took their toll on people emotionally, physically and mentally. The basis of change in all life. The implications of a long life and the menagerie of things that people could do during that span of time, emotions that were felt, how long such feelings lingered… "Well you act very young by general human standards." It was meant to be a compliment. In theory, it should've been. It was supposed to make him feel better but somehow she got the impression that it still managed the opposite. Still, the Doctor smiled at her.

"It's the face, isn't it? I've noticed that I tend to look much younger than nine hundred and three. Don't quite think that's a problem but it doesn't always make me feel like a young man." The laugh just fell out of him before he could stop it when he caught sight of her face. Whatever kind of look it was, it was funny, like a deer caught in the headlights snorting ground pepper or something equally confused and bothered. "A number like that usually has that effect on people, lieutenant. Don't look so put off by it!" He laughed when she returned to her usual pouty self.

"Nothing is being taken personally," Caligo grumbled. It was hard to believe that she wasn't, and she honestly wasn't sure of the feeling other than that she didn't care for him laughing at her. "After all. What do I know of Time Lords and such things?"

He gave her a very casual shrug as they meandered their way back out into the blinding streets. "Well you know I look human, for a start."

"Hmm… Yes, well, looks are superficial at best." She seemed very unimpressed so far, something he was definitely not quite used to.

"I speak a variety of languages, not all of them human in origin mind you." As they exited the little shop, he made a quick gesture to a few of the local boutique stores, endoskeletons in the window modeling the latest and greatest fashions. "Sleek, functional, nice bright-"

"Blinding," she corrected almost tersely as they passed by a youth sporting what looked to be a crinkly length of tin foil around his neck. "I prefer darker colors. My clothes are comfortable. Theirs might be as well, but to them. Not me."

"Fine, fair enough… But don't you ever want to wear anything that isn't 'standard issue'?" He briefly peeked into the window of a shoe store and cringed a little at the dangerously high heels on display. How someone didn't hurt themselves in those would be a mystery to him.

Caligo didn't even spare the shop a passing glance. "Only my insignia and boots are issued to me. My stand by commission gives me the freedom to dress as I please, though within reason, of course."

"Why do I get the feeling your definition of reason tends to vary?"

"I attribute that to different levels of knowledge of different walks of life. That disconnect is common between civilians and those of varying ranks in my service as well. Different information means common things may be redefined under certain circumstances and prompt different actions."

He couldn't help scrunching his nose at what almost sounded like philosophical tech talk coming from the lieutenant. She proved to be as thoughtful as he believed but it just managed to sound totally wrong coming out of her mouth. "I wouldn't expect you to be so understanding. Most soldiers I've met are rather stubborn, not meaning any disrespect to them. Not **really** anyway."

"I'm sure none is taken by them. Many typical soldiers are. Humans in general are set in their ways after a certain point. I am being neither understanding nor stubborn, but on that particular subject, I am also no soldier. I've simply processed all the information from various angles on the subject so that the reasoning behind whatever happens is clear to me. Understanding gives me the upper hand in manipulating the situation in a favorable direction."

Ah yes, a common theme. Manipulation. The Doctor was already mentally flicking through a list of professions that would require and encourage such a skill. He wouldn't be surprised if she used to be a spy or specialized in extracting information on the sly from people. But, on the other hand, she very well could've just been a control freak. "So if you're a lieutenant," he started, partly thinking out loud, "why do you worry so much about having control of a situation? Shouldn't that be your commanding officer's problem? I mean you're just there to follow orders like everyone else after all." There was the slightest hint at trying to get a rise out of her with the tail end of that statement, but it didn't seem to register. It was definitely bothering him, how she suddenly seemed so much stiffer, robotic even like when she had first seen the inside of the Tardis or having woken up this morning.

"You're right, in a sense. However, my superior often treated me as his second in command. In the end, my constant consultation resulted in my thoughts on any particular subject being just as significant as his. I gave both him and my colleagues no reason to distrust my judgment and no one opposed. I suppose it's simply a habit that carried over after all those years of it. That doesn't mean I didn't follow his orders though…"

The Doctor shrugged a little and glanced down at her briefly. "I find that hard to believe." Down the street they walked seemed to be a fair of sorts. Perhaps more of an open market with merchants peddling their machines. Many of them were androids, hound shaped endoskeletons with shining red eyes and things reminiscent of Caligo's drones with much larger guns on their 'forearms' seemed to be in season so to speak. Caught up in sensing the new trend, he missed the frown that she gave him.

"Do I somehow come off as the delinquent type to you, Doctor?"

"Cal. You don't mind if I call you Cal, right? Do me a favor and look around for a second. Tell me what you see." If he was paying any mind to her reaction after ignoring her question, the Doctor gave no indication and despite the slightest hint of indignation toward it, Caligo did as he asked.

"A lot of machinery… Drones. Hunting drones. It seems to be hunting season on this planet."

"Yeah, but what would they be hunting on a settlement that's nothing if not technologically based…"

"There are such things as nature preserves. That aside, this is just one city. There's nothing to say that the rest of the planet is in a similar state. Though, I suppose the level of armament on these machines is rather…excessive…unless they're attempting to hunt something roughly the size of an elephant." Caligo followed as he ventured further into the crowd near a stand of hunting drones.

"The latest and greatest," the man atop the polished steel platform bellowed, the grin on his face looking far too pleased with what one would assume to be his latest creation, "Nothing can escape it once it has you in its sights. The great giants of the Cylliad Mountains refuse to face it because they know that this machine here…" He gestured grandly to the spotless, gleaming robot with its crab-like tripod legs and variety of guns and cannons mounted all over its appendages. "This is a real predator."

"Sport hunting," Caligo commented dryly as ever. If it was one thing she held a strong distaste for, it was the lack of subtlety in machinery and the lack of finesse in the design. This was a walking tank, not a predator. Just a single glance told her that it was made for nothing more than mass destruction and she was just about to say so to the Doctor when she caught sight of the way his expression dropped further and the muscles in his jaw had tightened. "I take it this is something you find no amusement in. I don't think I could blame you." _But for very different reasons, I'm sure._ Truth be told, she didn't feel one way or another on the subject since she knew nothing of these 'giants of the Cylliad Mountains' or the struggle between man and native beast on this planet.

"That is something that will destroy not just anything, but everything in its path…"

Caligo could only nod in agreement, despite the fact that he probably wasn't paying her the least bit of attention. His statement seemed to be more of his own opinion than anything else, but she certainly saw what he saw when she looked at the hunting drone. "The man who made this did not have a predator in mind when he designed it. Do you see how it moves?" She gestured to the machine's legs as it trounced around on its stage, loud and heavy steps were audible even above the din of the marketplace chatter. "It's made to conquer the terrain it travels. Predators are silent, graceful and do not aim to dominate, but move in tune with their environment."

The Doctor couldn't help a look of surprise, but he found it hard to hammer down the reason for it. A lack of concern for whatever this machine was built to destroy might be one, but her sheer appreciation for something natural was on the list too. He truly did like the sound of the latter much more and a sort of revelation hit him then. "You don't really like machines, do you," he asked with a half-smile creeping across his face.

"I do like machines. Far easier for me to work with and understand." She replied coldly and calmly, crossing her arms over her chest once more. She caught his gaze in the corner of her eye and tilted her head just a little to signal him that she wasn't yet finished speaking. "But in different aspects of life, I've come to appreciate a balance of letting certain things such as the natural world be its own mystery. Seven years has shown me that technology will never be able to perfectly replicate all aspects of the natural world. Humanity, among other things, would not survive in a fully artificial environment. Not to the extent humans believe…"

"Physically, all your needs would be met but there would always be something that you're missing… All the comforts of living but you're never satisfied." That smile couldn't be moved from his features when she gave a low hum of agreement. He knew there was a good reason why he liked this one. "I know what you're trying to get at, but trying to understand people is half the fun **because** it isn't easy."

"Not quite the case for me, I'm afraid." Caligo focused once more on the man beginning his demonstration the features of his drone that were 'to die for', something in the back of her mind liking the way he said it even less than she did.

"Now, see here. Even if you're in a real jam - Say you've gotten yourself into a bit of a sticky situation and you don't have the firepower to even scare off all those nasty little things out there in the wilderness or say there is one among your lot that wasn't there before, but you can't be sure who that is…" The man let a hush fall over the crowd before a trickster's grin broke across his face. "My machine here has just the thing for that. Anyone or anything that isn't human in origin can be targeted and detained or eliminated right on the spot. Not even shape shifting aliens like Zygons can beat this beauty~"

The more or less anti-alien campaign he suddenly seemed to be driving caused a sense of alarm between the two and Caligo gave the Doctor a very subtle glance. He could easily read the concern, the questioning in her expression, as vague as it was. The Doctor kept the drone and the man in the corner of his eye as he leaned a little closer to her ear. "Honestly, I didn't know they were like this…"

"I believe you, but perhaps we should move along. I don't like the idea of standing amidst a crowds so easily rallied by alien hunting." As subtly as they could manage, they maneuvered through the throng of shoppers and onlookers to something they hoped would be a little less intense…

The Doctor was nearly sent flying back into Caligo when something, for lack of a better term, exploded and left a gaping scorch mark on the ground just a foot or so in front of him. The crowd of screaming people quickly dispersed as the drone leapt from the podium and began pursuing them.

"I don't think I need to say that now's a good time to-"

"Run!" She practically bellowed at him, taking firm hold of his coat lapel and bolting into the remaining shoppers that had yet to flee. "It thing must have been scanning the crowd the entire time that fool was running his demonstration…!"

"Probably! There probably isn't another alien lifeform for miles let alone in this city!" Another blast brought down a sign from one of the larger booths selling jewelry of some sort, forcing them to turn down into a series of alleys. "It's running us into a corner!"

"Unless you've memorized a map of the city and can tell me where to turn, just keep running!"

"If it corners us we're dead!"

"We don't exactly have the luxury of stopping and asking for directions! At least if we're moving it gives us a little more time to-"

The Doctor pulled back roughly on the arm still gripping his lapel and managed to cushion his more or less impact with the dead end they suddenly found themselves face to face with. Down the trail they had just sprinted, the mechanical menace rounded the corner and had its sights trained on him with a red dot aimed right between his two hearts as if to make its point. He could feel them thrumming wildly in his chest, drowning out the sound of everything else around him, making his body feel heavy and numb…

"Doctor."

 _Caligo._ "Cal," he murmured, eyes still focused on the ammunition cycling through the drone's left arm, "I want you to move slowly. Follow the alley back out into the main street. You're human so maybe this thing won't attack you."

"That's not necessary. I can-"

"You do as I say, alright? If only one of us walks away from this, it has to be you."

"That's a demolition grade, shaped miniature explosive it has loaded. It's not going to-"

"You go back to the Tardis right now and let her take you home! I'm not going to let you-"

The hunting drone was within feet of them when it fired on him, all the light and sound accompanying an explosion present and accounted for but the funny thing was that the only thing he felt was a good amount of weight knock the wind out of him and his ears rang like bells. It squished him against the wall. Not crushed. Whatever it was, it wasn't terribly massive… Coughing up dust and probably a lung, the Doctor reached forward to grab hold of whatever lay against his chest and push it aside when he caught sight of the mess of dark hair and the feel of cool leather beneath his fingers. _There's no way,_ he thought, hearts sinking into his stomach, _She couldn't have been in the way of that. There's no way she would survive!_ His grip on her shoulders tightened to an almost bruising level when he felt the weight that was her shift against his chest.

As the dust settled more, he caught sight of the electrifying blue glow in front of them. His mind was slowly putting the pieces together. "A shield…. Brilliant…!" She knew what kind of firepower it was packing. She had a shield. She didn't run because she knew they would survive if she used the shield. His curious nature got the better of him while she steadied herself more and he reached out to tentatively touch their saving grace. A small, almost electrifying chill hit his fingertips on contact with it and slowly, he moved along toward the supports generating the barrier. Long, slender and very solid metal beams started out at the frame and gradually became thicker as they traveled up the length of her arm…

 _Her arm._ The shield that had protected them was _Caligo's arm_ and the revelation left him speechless for a number of reasons.

"Are you alright Doctor…?"

His gaze shot back to her face in an instant and he had managed to find some words, they'd formed into so many questions perched precariously on the tip of his tongue. The Doctor barely managed a nod and suddenly the shield had retracted, taking the shape of an anatomically precise forearm and hand of a human female with thick, leather flaps dangling off her bicep.

Caligo looked him over for a moment before nodding in approval, seeing that he was free of any sort of life threatening physical injury and turned to assess the pile of scrap that was the hunting drone. "It looks like I successfully deflected the projectile's force back onto it. If anyone were to look at it, they would think it destroyed itself," The mechanical menace twitched some ways away from them, sparks jumping from the exposed, damaged circuitry of its body. "Well, for the most part at least." As if still unsatisfied by the state of the drone, she made her way over and reached into its torso, only to rip out what looked to be a spherical hard drive. "It certainly won't be getting up anytime soon now," she spoke with finality.

"What did you take out? The data core?" He gave it one last wary look before joining her in examining the device, finding his glasses to get a better look before she handed it off to him.

"Yes. If this thing scanned you, then any data on you would be stored in here along with whatever programming it was given. If the people of this city are as hostile as we've assessed them to be, then the last thing we want is for them to have any proof that you are, in fact, an alien."

"Unless of course they decide to scan me and they find out I have two hearts," he mentioned flippantly. He just missed Caligo whirl around on her heel to look at him, brows furrowed and half glaring at him as if he'd said something particularly offensive. In reality, she was just surprised to find that she had been right, despite the fact that it had been little more than a wild guess.

A slight shake of her head, she muttered, "Unbelievable," under her breath and pocketed the device. "I have the sneaking suspicion that the man who was attempting to sell this machine did not build it himself. No engineer worth their salt would dare call this a "predator". The very idea of a bull in a China shop though."

"If I didn't know you any better I'd say this makes you more than a little cross."

She took a few moments to identify his tone as teasing and another few to figure out what he meant by "cross" but when she was all caught up, she caught him trying-and failing rather miserably-not to laugh at her.

"Does the poor craftsmanship upset you~?" He asked with a hint of amusement.

"In a matter of speaking, yes." She continued grumbling under her breath whilst reaching to her bicep and tugged at the straps connecting the two rogue flaps of leather that eventually reformed her sleeve. It was only then that he remembered the shield.

"So what kind of shield was that?" He asked, gesturing to the appendage that now seemed like nothing out of the ordinary, save for the metallic look to it.

She shook her head at the mess one last time as if still lamenting the scene before turning back to him. "Energy shield, kinetic setting. Anything that hits this barrier will only make it stronger, provided that it isn't stronger than the shield the first go around… I designed and built this myself since I needed a prosthetic and figured that there would always be a time when it could be useful. Something that I'm actually rather…glad? Yes, I suppose the word would be glad… I'm rather glad to see that it has become standard issue for those with substantial injuries like my own…" There was an obvious look of discomfort when the word "glad" came out of her mouth, like it left a strange taste on her tongue or she just hardly ever used it.

The Doctor just thought that maybe talking about feelings was like a foreign language to her. "Well… Any moment now someone ought to come looking for this thing. Best make ourselves scarce, right?"

The suggestion looked like it bothered her, but she simply nodded in agreement and tiptoed her way around the broken machine with him.

"I really do owe you now. You're just full of surprises, you know that? I bet you're hungry. I'm a little peckish myself. How about lunch? Or is it time for breakfast?" He glanced back over his shoulder and grinned. "Well what does it matter, right? Time machine and all that."

"You're very indiscriminate about who you share that information with you know… Seven years ago, I might be more than a little concerned about that, but I suppose that it's all fairly relative now."

"What, humans **still** haven't completely wrapped their heads around time travel in your century?"

Caligo, on an almost completely unrelated note, had finally come to expect the teasing as part of the Doctor's personality and might even go as far as accepting it, but it really would take some time go get used to the griping about humans. "No, I don't know of anyone who's been focusing their research and resources on that… Certainly not Central."

"Well then what exactly is Central focusing on?"

"Classified, Doctor. Although I feel as though that may not exactly be something that deters you from sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

There was a hint of humor in there somewhere…

The sound of footsteps – heavy and thunderous – echoed off the alley walls and the two quickly slipped down another path to avoid the party that had most likely come looking for the drone and maybe them as well.

"They must've went down this way."

"How can you even be sure? Stupid machine didn't leave any tracks and neither did they!"

"Shut up! I'm in charge, remember? I'm the one who's got more hunts and successful kills under my belt than you!"

The angry exchange of words between those of varying age and even gender prompted Caligo and the Doctor to exchange looks which neither of them could quite read. She took the lead and peered around the corner, cautiously reentering their previous course back out into the street. "We should leave. I have the feeling that they know who they're looking for or at least what we look like and they're likely to question how we survived the attack, much less destroyed their machine…"

"Shield arm prosthetic?" He offered, seemingly in an attempt to be helpful. "Not like it's the most farfetched thing in the universe, though it's the first I've seen before."

"You are not helping. Besides, I appropriated their machine's data core and I'm not too keen on returning it…"

"Right. Point taken. Time to disappear."

He quickly grabbed her hand and set off running in the direction of the general population. It was rather refreshing to have someone around that could keep up with his pace after such a long time, but the height difference still left her a little way behind him.

"Doctor, we can't just go back the way we came. The crowd may recognize us."

"Fine, fine! Left or right?"

"Right," she called, just before she took a sharp turn down another alley and pulled him along behind her. Her metal fingers dug into the corners of buildings now falling behind them and occasionally he could spot the little dents they left on the surface.

"I meant the next right!"

"You just said left or right."

One way or the other, he couldn't deny that they'd still ended up back in the main street in a place they didn't recognize and the chaos from earlier was practically nonexistent. The Doctor glanced around at the people going about their morning grocery shopping, wondering if anyone else had weapons hidden on their person or if it had just been that particular district they happened to wander through… "I'd say we may have overstayed our welcome a bit, don't you?"

Caligo said nothing, but nodded briefly at him. It seemed to be an unspoken agreement that after the ruckus their presence had caused further up the path that they would need to find an alternate route back to the Tardis from wherever they were. "I suppose now is as good a time as any to ask someone for directions."

"Be even easier if we knew exactly where we'd come from though."

"Could we not just try walking around the block? This city seems to be more or less of a similar layout to those in 21st century Earth's cities. Aside from the chrome, that is."

"Don't feel up to running today?" He asked, glancing back up the way they had come. It seemed that the search party still hadn't picked up on their trail thankfully (not that there really was one to be left in a city this sterile, but they didn't see things the way hunters did) and thought about whether or not they'd be recognized running up the street to a big blue box.

"Not from lasers, no." Caligo grabbed hold of his arm and sternly led him down the street to the next corner.

Sometimes she really reminded him of Donna but with far less sass. _What would you be like with a little more attitude_ , he wondered. He might've been an alien, but he wasn't that dense. The whole killer robot fiasco seemed to have put her in a rather amiable mood too and he certainly didn't want to ruin that. It would just take the fun out of the whole trip if the amount of danger he attracted didn't deter her already… _But it isn't. In fact, it looks like it's the opposite. What's worse is that she's prepared for it!_ Though he couldn't quite understand what unnerved him at least a little about the last bit. If anything, being able to protect herself ought to be a good thing. Yet the Time Lord could barely fend off the feeling of guilt that knotted in his chest. The story always started out the same. A man unlike any other had crashed into their lives – in most cases quite literally – and whisked them away to see the stars. His companions were always capable individuals in the face of danger and risk in their own right…

 _And he always had to say goodbye sometime…_

"I think I found a map."

"Brilliant. Where'd you find that?"

"There was an information stand by the crosswalk we just passed. Do you recall what street you parked the Tardis on?"

"What, I drive _and_ I need to remember where we parked? What about you?"

The unamused look on Caligo's face spoke volumes to him and he nodded, seeing his error right away. "Right. Sorry. Not the time for that I know but I mean you can't tell me that between a Time Lord and an engineer neither of us thought to look at the street signs until we got lost?"

"Let's try to get to the pet shop and go back from there." Her mood didn't improve the more he spoke. He was loud enough to draw some looks and the off color comments he made were hard to ignore, coupled with the fact that the two stood out very much against what seemed to be the fashion trend here. To her, the Doctor either didn't understand the concept of keeping a low profile or just thought that humans were so unobservant and dim that just **looking** human would be enough amongst the general public. Considering that she wasn't stupid enough to believe that **he** was that stupid, she concluded that he was simply just that **arrogant.** "Doctor, once we get back to your ship you and I need to have a proper discussion about how **not** to blend into a foreign and potentially hostile environment."

He merely shrugged in response as he searched for any street signs that might help them. "Would be nice to just have a conversation. Maybe something calm, relaxing, without robots shooting lasers at us of course. Whimsical might do, even." The Doctor glanced from the map they'd managed to swipe from a tourist somewhere along the way to a holographic projection of a map landmark (that really looked more like a giant Tetris piece) and back again. "Promise it won't be too out of character for you though. Blimey. First humans are overcomplicating something simple like a map or engine schematics and then slide over to the stick-figure-on-a-post-it end of the spectrum. How does anyone find anything here…!"

The lieutenant could feel her brow twitch at the unsubtle remarks about humans and searched the crowd for the easiest person to grab. "Excuse me." She grabbed the attention of two adolescent boys on a crash course toward a busy intersection teeming with speeding vehicles, their noses buried in their phones.

"Yeah? What's shakin'?" One with a Mohawk so high and spikey that it was most likely illegal somewhere in the universe replied. It didn't matter what planet they were on, human behavior never seemed to change…

Ignoring the perusing eyes of the younger looking boy, Caligo set her cold gaze on Mohawk-boy. "My friend and I," she started, already uncomfortable with setting a defined relationship between herself and this snarky alien, "Are looking for a pet shop. Would you be able to give us directions?"

"Yeah, reckon we could."

She would later allow herself to fume about how easily she had walked into that particular trap when they were safely back inside the Tardis but for the time being, Caligo simply stood there and waited for one of them to answer her.

Mohawk-boy wasn't too fond of the way she just stood there and stared at them so expectantly. His friend, however, seemed to be a fair amount smarter than him and finally spoke up. "Are you from Prime?"

"Prime? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

"Prime. Y'know. Earth. The first Earth. You're not from around here I know that and you don't look like you've got alien in you," he laughed.

There was nothing good natured about that laugh, she mentally noted, as there was when the Doctor laughed at her. Caligo's expression remained utterly uninterested when she tilted her head to get a better look at the smartass one. "I am from Earth. Answer my question or stop wasting my time."

"Well that depends. Y'know I've always wanted to kiss a country girl~" Not a second after leaning in toward her face, he found himself being hoisted onto the tips of his toes by two ice cold fingers jammed up his nostrils.

Mohawk-boy noticed her cold expression turn into a full on scowl and promptly took about five steps back from her and his friend. Whatever trouble had just found him, Smartass was on his own.

"I thought I made it clear that I don't care to have my time wasted. Directions. **Now**."

"D-Down two blocks and take a left at the distillery…!"

Caligo nodded in approval at Smartass's panicked answer and carefully set him down before reclaiming her fingers from his nose. She made certain that there were no substantial injuries on him before addressing them both. "Thank you for your time." She left the two to nurse Smartass's most likely sore nose and promptly walked over to the Doctor who looked as if he were putting very minimal effort into hiding his amusement.

"Getting to know the locals Cal?"

The scowl on her face came back full force at the memory of the encounter not moments before. "Two blocks down this way and a left at the distillery. We don't ever speak of this again."

"I'm sorry, what are we not speaking about?"

"I am not falling for that."

The Doctor shrugged and quickly followed after her, something that he noted he certainly wasn't used to, but he was having too much fun to pay it any mind. "Why do you make it sound like I'm trying to trick you? I'd never do that." It was a good thing she wasn't walking next to him or else she might've caught sight of the shit eating grin on his face.

The journey to the distillery was quick, the building blending in with every other one within its vicinity and yet it still somehow seemed a little out of place to Caligo. "I honestly didn't think there would be a distillery in a city like this, but after my experience here I'll certainly think twice." Even in a place like Pillar, a distillery or even a bar wasn't the shiniest and brightest of places like here. "Well I suppose it's been a fair amount of time since I've been to any sort of drinking or alcohol related establishment."

"Let me guess," he said, glancing at her, "Seven years?" To say that he felt accomplished when he noted an expression on her face that clearly stated 'I'll be paying you back for that one' as opposed to 'I'm not going to entertain your childish behavior' would be an understatement. The Doctor mentally chalked that up to the short but still developing list of entertaining expressions he'd seen on his newest companion's face. Only two days and he was on a roll! "Well then the Tardis ought to be nearby. No time to waste, right?"

"I never thought you would be so conscious of it." She stopped for a moment to think about that. "Although timing is important if you want to avoid certain situations. I would think that this most recent event would be on that list but I'm sure even you couldn't have known that this would happen."

He had to think about whether or not that was supposed to be some sort of jab at him, but she looked a little too thoughtful to be mocking him at the moment. Letting the comment slide, they rounded the corner to see the pet shop and quickly retrace their steps from the pet shop back to the Tardis.

Only complication was that they weren't the only ones that had found it.

The population was no longer simply walking past the big blue box, but had now begun to crowd around it. The crowd was so dense that even Caligo and her battering ram of an arm barely managed to get them close enough to see what had drawn the formerly uninterested crowd to the ship.

"I don't like this," the Doctor murmured, trying to get a better look over the few people still in their way.

"Agreed. I have a sneaking suspicion that-"

Her thought was cut short by what sounded like someone knocking on a door, if the sound of someone failing to punch a hole through it could still be considered such a thing… A tall brunet man carrying a rifle was more or less pounding his fist against the door of the TARDIS, gruffly demanding that anyone inside come out immediately. Others, also armed, were keeping the crowd at a distance and thoroughly inspecting the outside of the ship.

"They're being amazingly invasive and they're still on the outside!"

One man tapped the side of the Tardis with the butt of his rifle and set the Doctor into motion before Caligo could stop him. Pushing past the crowd, the Doctor practically ran up to the man, quickly spun him around and pushed the rifle as a whole away from his dear ship. "Excuse me! That's quite rude. I'm gonna have to ask you to step away."

"This your thing?" The tall brunet jabbed his finger in the direction of the TARDIS and pinned the two with a look that made Caligo wonder if they'd caused him some great inconvenience as she stumbled into their midst as well.

"Yes, it is," the Doctor answered, clearly annoyed by so many people poking and prodding his beloved ship with guns. "So if you could be kind enough to point your guns somewhere else or better yet get rid of them!"

The lieutenant's gaze quickly snapped up to him when he made no attempt to hide the irritation in his tone. Sassy was an understatement. He could be downright rude when he wanted to and even if she didn't very much care, it certainly wouldn't help them if he managed to irk the men who obviously had the upper hand at the moment. Old habits just couldn't be helped and she gave the man a timid smile. "We'll move it. It won't be a problem in a moment." Caligo gave the Doctor a brief glance, silently hoping that he would keep his snarky mouth shut long enough for her to talk their way out of this tricky situation. He seemed to understand her intentions so far, something she attributed with just a hint of suspicion to his 'brilliant Time Lordness' and kept quiet, though he certainly didn't look any happier. "We're very sorry for the inconvenience mister…?"

The brunet man's eyes narrowed at her as if inspecting her under a microscope for any hint at a flaw or lie hidden in her words but soon learned that he would find none. Still, he didn't seem terribly ecstatic about giving her the benefit of the doubt. "What is this thing anyway?"

"It's an antique police box. We're from Earth Prime, as I'm told it's called. I built it as an art display of sorts. Thought it would be nice to see a little color in a place like this. He tried to convince me that it wasn't a good idea, but…" She gestured back to the Doctor and gave a nervous laugh, lacing her fingers together behind her back and rocking slightly on her feet. "What can I say? Once I get started on something there's just no stopping me." There was the slightest element of truth to the statement. The best lies often had them in there somewhere. It made it easier to stick to the story one was telling and not to stray from the character that was taken on.

"Earth Prime, huh?" The man asked gruffly. That seemed to be a sort of reassurance for him and whilst neither had much of an inkling as to why that was, the Doctor was the one who was suspicious of its significance. But that could come later. Right now, it was time he focused on the way this man was looking at the lieutenant.

"Well miss, while I give you credit for the stunt, care to explain how you got it all the way out here? I don't imagine him being much help at all." He gestured to the Doctor with little more than tilting his head in the Time Lord's direction, his eyes still focused on her.

Aside from being a little more than insulted by what he was insinuating, he didn't like the way he focused solely on Caligo. He had the physical traits of a bloke trying to be respectful when talking to a woman, but his gaze was predatory in every sense of the word. Like he never thought of anything other than the hunt or being related to the hunt and Caligo suddenly playing the role of the unsuspecting, easily intimidated young woman, well… Suffice to say he wasn't fond of the idea of his companion being the fish on the wrong end of the pole. "Work smarter, not harder or so the saying goes, correct," he suddenly cut in. The Doctor gave his cheekiest grin just to make his part as the begrudging colleague seem convincing, or so he told himself.

The irritation on her face was not faked when she glanced back at him but it certainly didn't have the usual venom behind it. The whole look of things seemed to put the brunet in a better mood. His deep, almost bellowing laugh was hard to miss and Caligo swore she could feel the vibrations of it from where she was standing. She flicked a lock of her bangs out of her face and _pouted_ at him. "I'm stronger than I look, really."

"How strong sweetheart," one of the others hollered.

There was just the slightest twitch in her brow when she turned to address the offending individual. _Of course it would be the young ones_ she thought dryly. Some things about humans never changed… All of the crowd watched her as she walked over to the young man who was also holding a hunting rifle, grabbed the barrel with her left hand and promptly bent it downward. She actually allowed herself to smile a little when he recoiled with a mixture of shock and horror on his face. "It's a prosthetic, but it does the job," she said, wiggling her silver digits at him in an almost flirtatious manner.

The brunet man's smile dropped away as he nodded at her. The barrel of his rifle was perched on his shoulder, tilted back slightly as if wanting to keep it far out of her reach. "That's a pretty serious injury for someone who's just an artist. What gave you that?"

"Ah, well…" Caligo rocked on her feet again and looked at her prosthetic hand. "I know a good doctor and engineer… Accidents at work you know? Got my arm caught in some machinery and there it went before I knew it."

Perhaps pretending to be uncomfortable with on the subject wasn't the best idea or perhaps the Doctor simply didn't make a good impression on the man but it quickly became evident that he was eyeing him in a less than friendly way. She couldn't be sure what the man or his associates were thinking when she looked up to the Doctor in a silent attempt to ask for help but apparently that had only made matters worse. He placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly began guiding her over toward their party.

"I think you'd better come with us miss." He glanced from the Doctor, to her and back again, ignoring their protests. The man nudged her over to one of the others, that same unpleasantly wary look on his face again.

"Now hold on just a moment. You're not taking her anywhere without me!"

The rifle on his shoulder was suddenly tilted down in his direction, one finger already on the trigger and the barrel situated about an inch from his chest. "I think it's in all of our best interest if she came with us and you cool your jets mister," he all but growled in response.

Caligo would later swear she felt her heart stop for a brief moment before she pushed her way between the two and forcefully directed the weapon away from the Doctor. The sudden and forceful movement shoved his finger against the trigger and a shot rang out, a single high powered energy blast flying from the gun hitting the Tardis just above the door frame and muddling out the word 'police' on it.

That wheezing, almost sputtering sound might as well have been the nails in their coffins when the Tardis suddenly began to fade from site.

"No. No! Nonononono!"

"Doctor!"

He made a break for the big blue box and latched onto it with a grip that would put the Jaws of Life to shame. He couldn't risk losing the Tardis on a planet like this. There had to be some way to keep the ship from taking off!

"Doctor!"

His stomach dropped when he heard her yelling for him again. His head whipped back to see her just breaking free of the big brute's grip and running toward the almost nonexistent ship. "Cal!" He threw his hand out to her to help close the distance. If she could at least grab onto him then maybe-

She stumbled when one of them caught her by the arm, her fingers just passing through his before he and the Tardis were gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Oh boy, I really need to pick up my pace in writing don't I? Well, again, if not once a week it'll be every 2 weeks or so. Getting more work than I bargained for honestly but that's life innit? Thanks again to all my beta readers, advising me on my story and the works of others here that inspired me as well. Especially those who read and support my work. (ovo)b

All kinds of disclaimers (-v-)

* * *

The Doctor lost his grip on the Tardis as soon as it landed and fell backwards onto the cold, mossy ground. He was shaking. Maybe not all over, but his hands, his breath... He could feel his hearts shuddering in his chest. The cool soil between his fingers crumbled as they balled into tight fists, the events of the last few minutes catching up to him.

It had happened again. **Again** _._ How many of his companions had this happened to in his lifetime? Just this incarnation alone and he didn't think all of his incarnations together had enough fingers to count them all.

"No... No. She's not going on that list. She's probably safer there than out here anyway."

Out here. Now that he'd stopped long enough to collect himself he realized he had no idea where he actually was. It wasn't the city anymore, that much was obvious. He was in a forest but for all he knew he could be on the other side of the planet from Caligo. The Doctor practically spun around, taking everything in which wasn't much more than towering trees, tons of semi alien looking plants and a few birds flitting about the canopy here and there.

"Well it looks like Cal was right about this planet." He took out his sonic screwdriver and waved it around the area a few times. Not another indication of technology for miles. "At least I'll be able to tell when I'm heading in the right direction…" He thought about running a few tests on things that caught his eye but he knew he didn't have that kind of time. Maybe once he got Caligo back, they could go on safari and do all of that later on? "But before I can go and rescue her, I need to see what's gotten into you." He patted the side of the Tardis before pulling out his key and heading inside. Of course, the Doctor already had a feeling that all the pounding on her hull had put the old girl in a poor mood and the blast from that tall brute's rifle was the straw that broke the camel's back, but having an immediate objective to focus on made him feel a little more in control…

"Lieutenant."

"No." The Doctor quickly turned to find one of Caligo's drones crawling out from under the consul and pointed at it with a certain sternness. "You go right back to sleep, you understand me? I don't want you poking around my ship."

"Damage to external support module 011 detected. No repairs have been initiated." The steel blue drone continued to hover there despite his command to deactivate. It gave the Doctor the feeling that it was staring at him, perhaps almost as if it expected him to produce the lieutenant out of thin air. The report of sensing damage to her, however – most likely in her prosthetic. It better have been in her prosthetic – made him a little more than worried. "How bad is the damage?"

"Minimal. Minute fractures in support module 011. Immediate repairs unnecessary." The drone suddenly emitted a soft whirring sound and the circular green light on its faceplate flashed a few times. "Lieutenant. Damage to finger joint bearing 02 was detected. No repairs have been initiated."

His eyes widened as more unrepaired damage was reported by the drone on nearly regular intervals and the parts starting to sound more and more important. Joints? Motors? He nearly shuddered to think of what it was they were doing that would cause that but he already knew what was most likely happening: they were disassembling it. "I take back what I said about her being safer in the city." First things first though. He had to get the Tardis running properly again if he was going to play cavalry man. "You there." He jabbed a finger in the drone's direction again. "How are you tracking her?"

The drone turned to him and the light on its faceplate flashed again. "All Draugr units have a spinal implant on the C2 to C5 vertebrae connected to a sparce cybernetic nerve marker network. Signals from the lieutenant's cyber network are relayed back into this unit via signals transmitting between paired Draugr implants."

"How accurately can you track her?"

"Tracking range can cover up to a 200-kilometer radius and can provide accuracy up to three meters of the lieutenant. Statistics such as damage reports accessible while both units are active on the same network so long as they remain on the same planet with minimal disturbance from magnetic fields."

That was one hell of a range and while it struck him as a little odd, it was probably exactly what he needed right now. "Alright. Notify me as soon as the ship ges within twenty meters of her. Got it?"

"Affirmative."

The floating bot reminded him a little of K-9, if not for the fact that it couldn't resemble an animal if it tried and its voice was just a little **too** human in his opinion. "I should check in on Sarah Jane sometime now that I think about it," he mumbled absent mindedly.

"Damage to shoulder bearing module detected. Refrain from further movement."

He knew that it was good to keep track of her but the last report definitely made him edgy. Wasn't her prosthetic attached at her shoulder? "Oi. You there." He snapped his fingers and pointed in the direction of the steel blue bot floating at the other side of the room, watching him… What did Caligo call this one again? "Stop the chattering for five minutes please. I can't concentrate with all…. **That**."

"Affirmative."

The Doctor swore he detected a hint of agitation, but he could have words with it later. He was busy with the Tardis being more resistant than he would like to going back to that blasted city. "Come on now… What's gotten into you? We can't just up and leave her there. There's nothing here, right? Or else you'd be the first to know about it."

"Interference detected. The lieutenant's signal is weakening."

Or not. He checked and double checked all of the ship's sensors over and over again, but there was no sign of a change in their surroundings or even anything so much as a rat (or something of that size) scurrying by. He didn't like the idea that Caligo's drone was picking up something that the Tardis couldn't, but then again the Tardis didn't seem to be reacting to very much. "You have some of the most sophisticated sensors in the galaxy so what is this floating, oversized soda can picking up that you aren't…?" Staring long and hard at the screen didn't produce answers like he sometimes wished it did. If the Tardis wasn't picking anything up, why would she be refusing to respond to him? "Come on… Talk to me. Please?"

"The lieutenant's signal has been lost. Interference is limiting the functionality of this unit's sensors. Interference level steadily increasing. Suggested that the ship and its occupants be relocated to a safer area."

"If the Tardis thought we were in any danger the ship would've moved itself by now like it did earlier," he grumbled. There was only one way he'd find out just what was going on, which meant he had to go out into the woods and find the source of the interference. With no help. Or Tardis. "Right. Not a problem. After all, I **am** the Doctor… Oi. You stay put, got that?" He pointed accusingly at the floating drone again. "And don't touch anything! Nothing but the floor when you…sit down and crawl back under the consul… Something."

The drone did little more than stare at him – he thought it was staring, anyway – as he left.

 _So much for being chatty_ he thought. In the back of his mind he knew none of it was the robot's fault, and Caligo would most likely tell him so at that. "Worry about it later, Doctor," he muttered to himself tiredly before throwing the doors wide open.

A long gelatinous looking tendril glowing brightly floated by and paused at the doorway. It didn't move toward but it didn't move away either, as if it were aware of his presence and the fact that the Tardis doors were now open.

If it had a face, he might think it was a little wary of him right now… "And right now I need to be worrying about what's on the other end of this." Slowly, he inched closer to the door and the tendril quickly floated away, maintaining an adamant distance of about five feet from him. _It's worried about what I'm going to do…_ That was an odd realization in his mind, simply for the fact that this thing was probably massive compared to him and his ship. It obviously had an advantage or two over him at the moment… The Doctor carefully inched out into the open forest once again and followed the tendril up to what looked like a large, iridescent jellyfish hovering like a balloon just over the Tardis. Offhandedly, he guessed it was roughly the size of an elephant on Earth. _A giant glowing, floating elephant_ , he thought suddenly just before letting out a laugh.

In between heartbeats, several identical tendrils surrounded him like a cage, as if the creature was ready to scoop him up, shock him, and shove the Time Lord into wherever or whatever its gaping maw was.

"No no no no no! I'm not laughing at you, promise," he yelled, holding his hands up defensively. Palms up, hoping that it could somehow detect that he didn't have anything in them. Hopefully it would understand that he didn't mean it any harm… The Doctor let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding when his glowing prison suddenly bowed outward like a balloon, swaying minutely around him.

A smaller tendril wafted over his chest, the tip hovering over each of his hearts for a moment before moving up to the coat pocket that hid his sonic screwdriver.

The Doctor's eyes followed and his mouth formed a small 'oh'. "It's a screwdriver," he murmured, slowly reaching into his pocket and pulling out the device for it to 'see'. The wire thin tendril looked as if it wanted to take it from him to inspect it for itself, but quickly decided against it. "See? Nothing harmful, I promise. I don't really like guns and things that explode in my face either you know…Oi! Where are you going?" He called as the creature slowly began to float up and away from him. His arms flailed a little in an attempt to get the strange creature's attention again, just brushing one of the many glowing tentacles that hung freely from the rest of its body. Suddenly, he felt as if the pressure in his ears had shifted dramatically and the sounds of the world around him cut out to a blaring silence, save for a faint, high pitched hum. The sensation that flooded his body was indescribable, paralyzing and yet absolutely energizing. It spread like wildfire through his body, making his nerves tingle to the point of numbness. The vision of the forest around him slowly began to blur, each and every cell of his body vibrating from the intensity of the sheer number of sensations that had suddenly assaulted him in a moment before leaving him with nothing. A little voice in the back of his mind briefly questioned why this wasn't hurting him as it probably should've been, but the thought was lost as quickly as it had come. For once, his mind wasn't racing the speed of light to the finish line. No worrying about beating the clock, the laws of time and space, the Tardis making strange noises… Nothing. He could honestly lose himself in this feeling, he thought…

 _Lieutenant. Critical damage to cervical vertebrae sections three through five detected._

 _Lieutenant!_ The word flashed through his mind with the intensity of a thousand blaring fire alarms, reminding him of the reason why he had come out here in the first place.

 _Please seek medical attention from the nearest…_

He had to get the Tardis working.

 _Doctor!_

To find lieutenant Valgus.

Mustering every ounce of willpower in his being, he wrenched himself from the all-encompassing nirvana, reaching and clawing for the realm known as reality. _I have to find Caligo!_ His mind screamed. The next thing the Doctor knew, he was laying in the dirt with that annoying drone hovering too far within his personal space for comfort and the giant glowing jellyfish floating high above them. It was little more than a dot in the darkening sky. "It looks like a star from here," he murmured softly, wondering what the hell had happened and just how long he had been out for.

The drone hummed softly as it performed a very basic full body scan before backing away from him slowly. "No life threatening injuries detected," it practically announced as if it had any hand in the status of his wellbeing.

"Oi. Don't go about randomly scanning people. That's rude." He knew that because he often got similar reactions himself but he certainly wasn't about to tell it that…

"You were unconscious for nearly two point five hours. The lieutenant would have been displeased if I had not taken measures to ensure your safety." The drone responded to him dryly, following him slowly back to the Tardis. As mobile as it was, the drone still nearly bowled straight into the Time Lord when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and spun around to eye it.

"You said the lieutenant should seek medical attention?"

"Affirmative. The lieutenant has suffered damage to a critical structure in her body. Any level of damage to this structure should be assessed by a medical professional."

The Doctor felt his hearts begin to pound again when he heard the report. "How long ago," he asked, his jaw clenching. What were they doing to her? Those humans seemed so nice to her. They thought that **he** was the one who was a threat to her…

"Forty seven minutes and eight seconds ago sir. No further damage has been detected but this unit cannot maintain signal connection to the lieutenant for much longer. Sir, this report also indicates that Lieutenant Valgus has not received medical attention."

"Get back in the Tardis," he ordered the tech drone. He knew he needed a plan. He really could've used a plan. Something clever and well thought out that would definitely work. Oh yes, the Doctor definitely could've used one of those… "In a perfect world…" The second he got back inside, the Tardis was fully functional again and he threw the switch, sending them back to the city, however far away that was. He'd park on top of a building this time, just to be safe and how often do they expect someone to sneak in from the roof?

He threw the leaver down and back not a moment later before charging toward the door, throwing it wide open without a second thought. He'd parked himself on the roof of a building alright. A high one at that and the door facing the very edge. "I **really** ought to watch where I park," he groaned to no one in particular and took a moment to turn the ship in the right direction. "Alright, do your thing. Find the lieutenant."

The machine hummed as if they'd finally had a job they could both agree on doing and carefully made its way out onto the roof of the building to begin its search. In the meantime, the Doctor made sure to turn the Tardis in the proper direction. It had only taken him a minute or so, but he hesitated to see what that thing was up to. He didn't have a reason (not that he thought he really needed one) but the drone struck him as creepy. Resistant to him and his will, perhaps even to Caligo. Machines weren't often rebellious against their creators unless they were sentient and this one didn't seem to be one such machine, at least not in the traditional sense… This was only his second direct interaction with it however, and he could always be over thinking things like he tends to. "You're doing it right now," he scolded to no one but himself and lunged out the door. "Have you found anything?"

"The lieutenant is within thirty meters of our current location, but her signal is very weak. This may be due to the denseness of the building walls or other such factors, most likely the injuries she has sustained."

"Are you getting any updates on that?"

"Condition is still stable. Vital readings cause this unit to assume she is not in a combat or life threatening situation."

"That's a bit of good news then. Let's go and get her back, shall we?"

The drone followed closely, the hum of its engines slightly more audible now. "Doctor, I suggest we begin our search here."

"That's exactly what we're doing. You focus on keeping a…sensor out for her, I'll focus on actually looking through the building."

"My sensors encompass more functions than simply mere sight." If nothing else, the drone sounded a little offended.

The Time Lord whirled around on his heel and poked it right in its sensor. "The lieutenant plays by my rules on my ship when she's with me, right? I'm sure that means you do too so I don't want any more lip from you. We're going to get her back one way or another and she'll be perfectly fine when we do so let's stop wasting time butting heads and get a move on. We clear?"

The sound of the drone's engine flared up a little at that moment and he thought perhaps it was about to argue with him. He was spending too much time with the Tardis maybe, but he wasn't about to back down from this argument. He held the drone's 'stare' for a moment longer before a burst of static emitted from it. It distorted and seemed to focus in on certain frequencies. He swore he heard a murmur of human conversation and pulled out his screwdriver. "Hold on that frequency right there. Lemme give you a hand…" The drone didn't protest and obliged as the Doctor went to work on clearing up the static.

"He didn't do anything. I'm simply like this. I was merely attempting to placate your aggressive behavior."

"Cal? Is that you in there? Are you alright?"

"Does in fact look to be a prosthetic, Don. Pretty well made."

"The next words out of your mouth had better be a damn good explanation. I'm tired of games."

The hair on the back of the Doctor's neck bristled when he heard that voice, the voice belonging to the brunet they'd encountered hammering on the door of the Tardis. He didn't need to be an alien genius to know that the man was angry and clearly didn't think Caligo was some helpless girl anymore. "C'mon Cal. Just hold him off a bit longer 'til we get there…!"

"Protocol prevents the lieutenant from taking any forceful action against non-military personnel unless struck first in a serious manner," the drone reported back at a noticeably lower volume.

"What, so he's gotta shoot her first," the Doctor asked, nearly outraged at the idea. "Nothing like that's happening on my watch." He was lucky, he supposed, that the door to the roof was easy to open and led into a respectably lit staircase that wound down through the building's many floors.

"The lieutenant's signal has become more stable. Continue in the downward direction ten meters."

The Doctor let out a triumphant laugh as he charged down the stairs. "Right building on the first try. Not bad, eh?" It didn't take him more than five minutes at a near full sprint to make it down to the appropriate floor and without much thought as to what might be on the other side, the Doctor burst in through the door. One could hear a pin drop the moment the door swung back into the adjacent wall and at least fifteen other individuals stared up at him despite the various activities they were otherwise engaged in. "Oh boy…"

"Hey, weren't you that guy with the weird blue box thing from earlier," one of the occupants – the rude one from their first encounter if the Doctor remembered correctly – asked.

"Me? A big blue box? How would I possibly get that thing around," he laughed nervously. The Doctor leaned back toward the drone. "Left or right?"

"Left. There is no other door."

"Yeah, well, if you're so smart you better be able to keep up too." The Doctor bolted for the door before anyone else could get up from their seats and start after them, somehow finding the time to sonic every single door along the way open just to make sure he didn't miss Caligo along the way of trying to stay alive. "Of course it would be the last door!" The Doctor flung the door open and stumbled in, nearly locking Caligo's drone out when he shut it again. They would definitely need to go on more runs or else he was sure he'd be completely out of shape by the end of the day.

Caligo, along with the man presumed to be Don, looked up from the table as the Doctor and the drone stumbled into the room. "Wilhelm? Doctor?"

"Whoever let you in is fired!" Don barked.

Both the drone and the Doctor were by her side in the blink of an eye, the latter grasping her shoulders and giving her a quick once over to make sure that she was in one piece. "Cal! You're in one piece! Thank goodness. How's your arm? Your neck? What's all this about damaged support modules and joints?"

"I'm not sure I follow, Doctor."

The brunet, Don, leaned against the table with a partial frown on his face. "What kinda blokes do you think we are? Of course the lady's just fine!"

The Doctor stared at the two, apparently looking as daft as he felt at the moment, and came to two possible conclusions; the first was that he had completely misinterpreted every single physical, vocal and social queue up until this very moment but that possibility was dismissed not a second after it came to mind. The second was that Caligo's little drone, Wilhelm, had fabricated all of the status reports and possibly even the dialogue he'd heard earlier. The latter made him shoot the bloody machine a nasty look. "Cal, you and I need to have a talk about your little bot over there. I'm pretty sure he tried to pull one over on me."

"This unit is tasked with assuring the safety of the lieutenant. There was no guarantee that the Doctor intended on returning for the lieutenant when her presence was not detected upon entering the-"

"Do you really think I was just about to leave her thousands of lightyears away from her home," the Doctor barked, obviously offended by the notion.

Caligo waved her hand between the pair as if it would make them stop their bickering and for the most part it had worked. "Doctor, I apologize. Wilhelm is my responsibility and his parameters did in fact spur him to go to such lengths to ensure my safe return. He doesn't know very much about you and that was why he didn't trust that you would come back to get me without motivation. I hope he didn't attempt to threaten you…"

"And I hope he wasn't doing any kind of bad talking about me!" Don pushed off from the table and strode over to the drone to give it a good flick in the sensor with a rather large finger. "Okay so maybe we got a little carried away during the arm wrestling match but that was an accident. And you," he half growled, turning toward the Doctor again, "Are very lucky the little miss here is very good with a wrench and I mean **very** good." Don laughed and pat the lieutenant on the shoulder probably a little harder than he intended, jarring her enough to bump her forehead against the Doctor's chin. "Got the safety on my rifle working right again and that's important y'know? On the one-in-a-million off chance the kids got to it I sure wouldn't want it clicking off now would I? Would love to keep a smart gal around but she keeps on telling me she needs to be getting back to her work and all that! Folks must love you back home, eh?"

The Doctor gave a very halfhearted chuckle in response, not missing the way Caligo barely reacted at all to the compliment, and let go of her shoulders finally. "Well we best be off now. Don't much want to overstay our welcome and all." The Doctor scooted them toward the door and opened it, letting the mob of hunters from earlier nearly drop to the floor in the absence of its support. "Watch your step there, Cal." He made sure that Caligo was close behind him this time as they made their way back up to the roof where the Tardis was waiting when he suddenly stopped and turned on her. "Sorry, just realized something. Awfully funny how that works on off days like this don't you think?"

"You're getting off subject. What is it that you realized?"

"Right, sorry. I just realized that your shields are supposed to protect the Tardis from solar flares, right? That's basically a **ton** of electromagnetic energy right there and a little bit of interference from some alien creature shut it down." The Doctor knew the look on his companion's face. She was still trying to catch up to what exactly he was trying to point out to her. Either that or she certainly didn't believe him. "Your shields didn't work."

"They didn't work," she echoed quietly. Caligo frowned as they entered the Tardis and almost immediately began to pace. Wilhelm hovered just to the side of her, quiet and motionless but still active.

"You go off and brag about what a great engineer you are on Earth and your inventions don't even work? Blimey, should I be worried about anything else," he teased as he strolled over to the consul. Even as he sent the ship spiraling into the time vortex he noticed that Caligo was still pacing circles around the consul room relentlessly. Her eyes were closed but she never once bumped into anything or trip over herself and still didn't look the least bit pleased despite the turn of the events for the day. "What is it that humans say about science? Ninety-nine percent failure, one percent success. Pretty true. You don't really know something's right unless you've gotten it wrong I suppose."

Wilhelm let out a shrill sound like radio static and suddenly Caligo was on the move. Grabbing what looked to be a wrench off the jump seat and a few other things from her tool belt, she slid herself under the consul next to him.

"Oi, what're you doing down there? Don't mess with the Tardis. She definitely won't like that." Never mind the Tardis not liking it, **he** didn't quite like the idea of her playing around with his ship like some sort of science fair project.

"My shields didn't work," she said, "and that means I failed to do my job. That is unacceptable and I intend to rectify this."

The Tardis whirred softly, barely a spark coming from the underside of the consul as Caligo went to work on it and the Doctor couldn't help but stare up at the ceiling as if he were being ganged up on. "Over nine hundred years together and you let a stranger go mucking about down there quicker than me?"

"She did last time," Caligo muttered, placing the pair of goggles initially clipped to her belt over her eyes. "Communication makes the work much easier Doctor. Being a talker I thought that would've come naturally to you but then again there are others whom I would say are talkers and yet nothing relevant ever comes out of their mouths."

"That's just rude."

"I had a feeling it would be, if only a little. Regardless Doctor. I guarantee the problem will be fixed, although I wouldn't recommend testing the exact threshold of the shield's abilities in a dangerous situation. I'm just going to reroute this here…"

The Doctor watched as Caligo kept on working, probably talking more to the Tardis than anything else and how a brief shower of sparks traveled across the glinting metal of her left hand. That strange, clever hand. Well, if she was clever then both her hands must be clever but right now it's only that hand that's on his mind. How did it get there? What caused it to be there? Why did she pick a shield? _The shield._ "So how long do you think you'll take exactly lieutenant?"

"Was there someplace you needed to be very soon Doctor?"

"Well no. Not really. I mean this **is** a time machine after all so I can be anywhere I want, when I want. But I thought it would be nice," he half mumbled, taking off his coat and hanging it over the railing before going to join her in tinkering with the Tardis, "only fair, actually, that I take you out to dinner. Or lunch. Whatever meal of the day you want to say thank you for saving my alien behind from that big, dumb hunting robot today."

"That's a generous offer but rather unnecessary Doctor. I don't do things simply to gain something from it. Now I see what the problem was…"

"Still. Hold those wires out of the way, I'll get it for you." He made sure to put his glasses on before getting to work, helping her reattach the appropriate circuits and wires. "Bet you could use a break from the big bad city."

"Cities are more within my element as you well know." After today, however, Caligo couldn't help but notice an odd…feeling that came with interacting with so many people for such a prolonged period of time. Cities were fine. She liked technology, but perhaps she needed a break from people. "However, I wouldn't be opposed to a quiet area to…relax, as you say." She caught sight of the upward curve of the corners of his lips and almost instantly kicked herself mentally for making this minute compromise with him. "Focus on the task at hand first though."

"Of course. Besides, another set of hands makes the work go faster and the sooner you're done working the sooner you get to play, right?"

"Focus, Doctor."


	5. Chapter 5

I've been thinking that maybe these need titles but I never get so far as titling my chapters. Maybe one day I will. I've decided to switch to posting every two weeks since my classes turned out to be a little more intense than I thought they would be. BUT that's what you get for switching between a million science majors and suddenly math and science classes are all you have left to take. Yikes. Don't do it kids.

Anyway, thanks again to my betas, Ghost, Kane, Yen, Nico and Yel. Comments, questions, suggestions, reviews are all super welcomed. Thanks for sticking around everyone!

Major disclaimer on Doctor Who now Allons-y!

* * *

Scotland seemed to be a particularly grassy-hilled area. That's why Caligo was beyond confused when the Doctor had parked the Tardis on top of one of these massive hills that was probably the middle of nowhere.

"Doctor, I thought we were gathering parts to finish repairing the shield system..."

"I **did** promise you a nice, relaxing day somewhere though."

" **After** we finished our work."

"Just means you can practice taking a break~"

The Doctor barely missed the grimace on the lieutenant's face as he took the moment to stretch and inhale some fresh Scotland air. It felt like it had been a while since he came around and figured it was high time for a visit. His companion however, didn't really seem too enthused about the idea.

"I thought we'd established that this isn't exactly my preferred use of time?"

"Lieutenant, you have all the time in the world right now and space to boot. You're living in a time machine and the first thing on your mind is using your time efficiently?"

"I'm not living there," she nearly sighed. Caligo surveyed the grassy hillside. The sun looked as if it was just beginning to set, casting long shadows about the ground and tinting the sky a hazy orange.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her and waved her off. "Fine, lodging, if you're going to nitpick at the small details." It was probably good that they didn't have this conversation inside the Tardis where she could hear or else she might've been a little offended. The Old Girl had been very accommodating after all. "The point is that you have the time to make up for seven years as the elusive Abominable Snowman. No, wait. **Snowwoman** , sorry."

His companion grimaced almost immediately. Indeed, ever since this whole fiasco had begun, the idea that she'd spent such a long period of time in virtual isolation seemed to bother him immensely. Not her, no. Only the Doctor, and Caligo found it hard to understand why it sounded like such a travesty to him. "I don't believe that there's anything I need to make up for. I accomplished a lot of things in that time, none of which I regret."

"I know you said you don't care for people but I don't know how you manage to go so long without having someone to talk to. That drives people mad, you know! Are you mad? You'd tell me if you were, wouldn't you?" He swore he saw the corners of her mouth quirk up just the slightest bit, like she was trying desperately not to smile.

"I have Wilhelm and Yuki and my-"

"Robots that you built **don't count**. Actually robots don't count at all with you!"

"And why is that?"

"Because they're not people," he half snapped, prodding her shoulder lightly with his pinky. "It's not the same."

Caligo suddenly became very quiet and unusually still even for her.

He waited and waited but it was as if she'd suddenly been caught up in her thoughts; much like himself when he was alone. Humans would say that their thoughts were going a million miles a minute but he knew better. They couldn't think that fast – although there were those that tended to surprise him, bless – and he could easily go through a list of thoughts every human went through in their entire life, at least once, perhaps in a day. But there was something about this one that made him doubt that now...

A whisper of ' _why can't it be'._

...and he didn't like the feeling. Not one bit.

"I know my machines can't replace people. I'm not," her dismissive tone waivered a little, as if not knowing the right words to explain herself, "Intentionally trying to do such a thing."

"What are you trying to do then?"

There was something heavy in the lieutenant's gaze that only grows in weight as a wave of silence falls over them, nothing but the sound of a soft breeze rustling the tall grass. Her eyes closed as if in some form of acceptance. "I want to create an environment that I can properly interface with."

The awkward answer prompted what was probably his trademark cheeky smile and the Doctor gestured to the open field. "This'll be an easy place to start, right? Touch the grass! Breathe the air. Be in an open space." He threw his arms up, gesturing to everything around them and smiled. "I know what'll get you into the spirit. Come on!"

Caligo gave him what could only be described as a look and briefly debated whether or not she would make another futile attempt to convince him to take her to a city instead. "It makes more sense just to follow him," she mumbled to no one in particular and followed him back into the Tardis. "What exactly did you have in mind?" There was no denying that even whilst taking the position of a background piece to this madman's dance, she as an engineer and a woman of science found his mastery of the Tardis' plethora of controls absolutely enthralling. _He moves like lightning. So light on his feet as if he's little more than the wind_ she thought to herself, watching him flip switches and twist knobs furiously. She definitely didn't pay any mind to where such a thought had come from, however. Thoughts like that are lost as quickly as they come especially when faced with the task of keeping up with a ship that seems to intentionally challenge her comprehension.

The Tardis groaned as it once again came to a grinding halt, just a little less smooth than their previous arrival, but not everything can be perfect. The fact that he had yet to answer her question still hung in her mind, but then he seemed to be very fond of surprises. Showing was more enjoyable than telling and if she was ever going to understand anything about this man, she ought to learn to go with the flow as she might've once heard someone say.

The Doctor was waiting by the door by the time Caligo's mind fully caught up with her body and she had followed him without realizing. She also hadn't picked up on that sly smirk of his.

"If you can tell me you're not amazed by this," he announced just before pushing the doors open for her, "then we can go back to a city."

The landscape was gorgeous to say the least and who could dare to say less than that? The Tardis was perched atop a mountain covered not by snow, but the clouds that it pierced high in the sky above the ground. Birds the color of a rainbow soared through the air as if into the distant sun that seemed to be merely sitting on the horizon of an indigo sky to their right, singing softly to one another. The chilled air bit back at their skin as they left the safety of the Tardis to see more of what could only have been an alien planet.

The Doctor's smirk slowly morphed into a thoughtful smile when he saw his companion's eyes widen just the slightest fraction more at the sight. He knew this couldn't disappoint, even if the lieutenant had that compassionless air about her.

"This isn't Earth, is it," she asked with a tone that almost resembled hesitance.

He shrugged a little and suddenly found something on the top of the doorframe awfully interesting. "Well it would've been maybe a few billion years ago… The gravity of surrounding planets pulled this one apart like playdough. Bits and pieces of floating land in the sky like this one, waterfalls running endlessly in any direction…"

Here, the Doctor was no liar. Across from them some miles away was a floating pond filled by a drifting waterfall and spilling off into various rivers the rogue gravity defined. Only a fraction of the planet may have remained, but what still survived overshadowed the beauty of its past self immensely.

Caligo felt her posture slack just a little in a measure of defeat. The sight was in fact amazing. She couldn't deny it. Something began to stir in her chest. Something that threatened her very self if she so much as thought to attempt to conceal it. "I suppose I could work with this," she murmured. From a holster strapped to her left thigh, she produced a thick metal rod about a foot in length and began to twist it in her hands.

"Work?" The Doctor frowned. "That's really all that's on your mind ain't it? You're on holiday. You're not supposed to-"

All thoughts and speeches were cut short with a leather aviator jacket to the face. No sooner had he dislodged the offending article of clothing did she don her goggles and pulled the metal pole apart across her chest.

Lengths of fibrous looking filaments rolled out from a spool inside it and traced the length and width of her body, dangling from her arms until a sort of web like structure had faintly covered her back.

"Hang on. What're you-" He worried that he might need to get used to leaving sentences unfinished if he kept her around until Caligo taking a running start toward the edge of the peak.

And jumped.

"Caligo!"

Her body dropped like a rock, straight through the sea of clouds surrounding their little mountain without leaving a trace. The Doctor made a mad dash for the Tardis but only made it as far as the doors themselves when something shot past him overhead, bringing with it a powerful draft. His hearts were still beating a hole in his ribcage when he looked up to see a form soaring through the sky, bright orange sheets bridging the gaps between what looked to be limbs and he gawked shamelessly. "That's new. That's definitely new," half yelling, half laughing. He dodged yet another fly by and grinned. "That's absolutely brilliant!"

"Meet me on the far side Doctor," she shouted, gesturing briefly to a floating ring of grassy islands surrounded by a wide stream in the distance. A few powerful strokes of her arms lifted her high into the air again and off into the distance with the birds who had joined her.

The sight was undeniably marvelous but he wasn't quite sure if he should feel a little more hurt than he did the moment she'd jumped off that rocky precipice. _Blimey I'm going to have to think very carefully about just what exactly I'm going to say to her when I catch up_ he thought, entering the Tardis to find their meeting point. The Doctor paused a moment and grinned as he rethought his words. " **Me** needing to catch up with my **companion**. Now there's a novel spin on an old idea."

Most of the little islands in the ring were full of small animals, soft green grass and lively with the songs of alien birds. On the fifth island to the right was where the lieutenant had landed and once he had, he noticed how her two assistant drones suddenly powered up and followed him out the door. Her equipment was lying in the grass alongside her goggles and tool belt, that's all he noticed until he saw the blue drone hover so close to her face the draft from its thrusters ruffled her hair a little. "Is everything alright?"

"Perfectly fine," she answered without so much as a glance in his general direction.

The red drone was doing something to the glider's left wing and upon closer inspection the Doctor could see little wisps of steam wafting from the ridges of her left elbow, the joint spaced out a little more from the rest of her arm than it should have been.

Caligo looked up as he came closer and waved the blue drone off behind her to give them some space. "How is that for my having fun Doctor?"

He honestly wondered if he should feel taken aback by her question, though it lacked a condescending tone. What had tipped him off to her attitude was the way the corners of her lips quirked up just the slightest bit and the faintest glimmer of roguish mischief in her dark eyes. Was that what deviousness looked like on her? The grin was contagious and he found himself slowly returning one, although hers was quite short lived. "Yeah, well, next time you feel like having a bit of "fun" give me some warning?"

"Fair enough. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to test this glider though. The thermals are excellent here and the gravitational pull of various islands made for a challenging run." Caligo removed a PDA sized device from her tool belt and began typing something on it, though the blue drone she dismissed earlier was back again with a vengeance. The machine seemed hell bent on getting to her prosthetic arm, more specifically to the misplaced looking joint.

"You better let me do the driving from now on, yeah," he asked, also risking a peek at whatever she was typing. Data from her flight, of course. She might've been having fun but this woman was beyond being a workaholic, no doubt. "Is this work or a pet project of yours?"

"Personal project, much like most of the things you do really." Caligo shoved the device back into her pocket and looked up at him. "Suffice to say my hobbies and assignments happen to overlap." The red drone returned the once again pole like device to her holster and the flight was now little more than a memory to her. "This will be the extent that my work goes I assure you."

He couldn't help feeling a little pleased at this even if he was a little skeptical as to whether or not she really meant that. "Holding you to your word Ms. Lieutenant." He pinned her with a scolding stare but they both know it isn't as stern as he'd like it to be. "Well, suffice to say that now I want to take my time since you've picked such a lovely spot. Could even stay the night here. How do you fancy that, camping and the like? Not a bad way to utilize a view like this right?"

If she realized that he was poking fun at her again, she didn't say anything about it and tried to do exactly what she thought she should do: go along with it. "I've no objections to that. It's rare for me to have done so in the past but some of my assignments have required me to make do of what accommodations were at hand… I couldn't deny myself the opportunity of experiencing a possible future of Earth. There is nothing hostile about this environment that I can detect." She glanced down as a furry little creature dared to sniff her boot and eventually nestled up against it as though it were something comfortable.

"Aw, see that? Making friends already~"

"It's as if I'm being followed around by a narrator."

"Six hours for night to fall."

"Why? Tired?"

"No, I'm simply making an observation."

"I can see that. I mean you saw it too."

"Yes. Well…."

The ring of floating islands looked drastically different, shrouded in the darkness of the night and dimly illuminated by their modest campfire. A kettle of boiling water sat on a wire rack propped up a few inches above the flames as the Doctor and lieutenant waited for the tea to brew. The young woman looked up from her spot in the soft grass to the stars overhead.

"This is quite a different view from Earth. Things appear much clearer out here and without need of a telescope."

The Time Lord copied her pose and examined the sky above them. "One of the things about this place is if you had one – at least a decent one – you could probably see someone in their home as far away as say that star there…"

"Could you be more specific?"

"About an inch and a half to your left… You could probably see them lounging about in their home watching I Love Lucy on the teli."

Caligo's gaze tilted toward him a tad, one brow quirked just the slightest bit. "Is that an exaggeration?"

"Just a little. You'd need a telescope almost as powerful as the Hubble to see what's actually on TV."

"Really though. An ancient human sitcom from the 1950s. Aliens watching TV…"

"Not all aliens are little green men from Mars you know. Some of us watch Television too and they really knew how to write shows back then. Don't be so quick to write off your ancestors." The Doctor spared her a glance as he returned his attention to the kettle and poured each of them a cup. Caligo was still staring up at the sky just as a shooting star passed by above them. She hadn't moved and had probably chosen not to acknowledge his previous remark. He briefly caught her attention long enough to hand her the mug. "Do you like looking at the stars," he asked.

"I've been to many different ones in previous years and have a functioning telescope in Blackridge. Stargazing isn't considered a luxury if that's what you are asking."

"Just thought that maybe since you lived up in an observatory you liked to look. Relive some of your fond memories. Bet Blackridge must have a great view when the snow lets up, eh?"

The lieutenant took a large gulp of the steaming hot tea without hesitation and with virtually no reaction to what would've been even a little painful for him. The Doctor winced for her. It was still hard as ever to read the look on her face since there wasn't really much of the latter.

"I was advised to keep myself busy rather than indulging in civilian pleasures. The farther my mind is from such things, the better."

"Well you're on holiday for the moment so you can indulge in them as much as you like," he grumbled, half to her and half **for** her. He took a minute to retrieve a bag of marshmallows, a box of chocolate squares, a package of graham crackers and a couple of skewers from the Tardis kitchen for them and plopped them down on their sparingly used picnic blanket.

Caligo stared at the items, a slight crease in her brow forming. "Is this dinner?"

"No. Just a snack. They still make s'mores in your era?"

"Make what?"

"S'mores," he repeated. His companion's blank stare spoke volumes and he recoiled a little as if the notion that she had no idea what s'mores were was absolutely abhorrent. The Doctor speared a marshmallow with a skewer and held it over the fire. "Delicious, gooey, sugary treats of pure awesome and probably one of the greatest camping food inventions in human history." As soon as the marshmallow was fairly well toasted, he squished it between two crackers and a square of chocolate before offering it up to the sweet deprived lieutenant. "All that's good and lovely about food in one little morsel. Try it. Go on~ A bit hot and full of sugar but I bet you'll like it. Just don't forget to brush after."

Caligo's stare remained wholly unimpressed and disinterested but nevertheless, she took the offered treat and held it gently with her prosthetic hand. The heat wouldn't have bothered her in the least either way, but she had been holding herself up with her other hand in the grass and dirt for some time now. She may have been used to less civilized conditions but that didn't mean she wouldn't avoid dirt in her food when she could. She caught him taking a bite of one he'd made for himself in the time she had spent staring the food item down and he smiled at her encouragingly. _He's just trying to be nice… Just try it. It couldn't hurt. If I disagree he'll be unhappy,_ she thought as if she really needed the pep talk. The Doctor had been right. It was chewy, it was gooey and it was certainly something that shouldn't be eaten in excess. "I can see why it's a treat for special occasions."

"I know. At the rate I'm going I won't be keeping these teeth for long," he grumbled, licking his lips a little. The Doctor couldn't help chuckling when he saw her dipping her hand into the drifting waters to clean them up. He'd been curious since they narrowly avoided being blown to bits on their last adventure and he knows he's a bit rude, but the man liked to push his luck sometimes. "How'd that happen? Your arm I mean," he asked as gently as he could, wiggling his left hand at her to indicate which side he's talking about.

Her expression didn't change and she even glanced down at the metallic appendage herself. It was the first time anyone had asked and her inventions intrigued him. At the very least, considering that he was most likely expecting an answer, she could afford to tell him something. But how much should she say? It was rather common for things people didn't like to hear to come out of her mouth… _But this is the Doctor and surely in nine hundred years he's heard and seen stranger things than this_ , she thought.

It was impossible to miss the hesitation before Caligo answered but it could definitely wait until she was done talking to be addressed. After all, he didn't want to miss the story.

"I made the replacement myself," she began, carefully but in her usual monotone. "It was on my last mission that my arm was exposed to Coorthinian parasitic worms that ate away at everything and my partner was forced to amputate the dying limb to save my life. Back on Earth I began working on the model you see here to replace the poorly constructed one I was initially given."

"Well now you've got to give them some credit for trying," he attempted to say through a mouthful of s'more.

Caligo raised her hand, the fire casting a bright orange glow as he watched the expertly crafted digits twist and bend smoothly as if it were living flesh. "I thought that by now you would understand the issue I have with poor craftsmanship." She reached into the pile of burning wood and plucked a piece from the ash. The metal of her hand didn't once warp or melt, but held well against the all-consuming element. "I've calibrated it to allow myself to still be able to process sensory information such as pressure and temperature without triggering pain signals."

"And that brilliant shield of yours." The Doctor watched with fascination as she flicked the dying ember back into the fire. There was true admiration for her work, what she had been able to accomplish after such a crippling injury. "Bet your partner loved having you around on missions and the like."

"He never had a chance to see it. He died in transit back to Earth and I was decommissioned shortly after my release from the hospital."

The event was stated without compassion, as it was little more than a fact to the lieutenant. In reality, it was. The young woman had a near inhuman lack of emotional response to practically anything. Grief was all she knew and yet knew nothing about it at the same time.

The Doctor eyed her above the flames. He wasn't so thick that he couldn't tell she had chosen her words with care when telling him the story and there was always reason for such things.

"I would have liked for him to see my progress, however…"

"I'm sure he'd be proud." He grabbed his mug and raised it a little. "To your partner. Bless his soul."

The lieutenant quickly picked up on the sentiment and copied him, taking a small sip from her mug. "Thank you Doctor."

He nodded a little and took a sip of his tea, thankful that it had enough time to cool off a little. "What was his name?"

"Wilhelm Einscoff."

He perked up a little at the name. "Like your little drone?"

"Exactly."

"Well now I can see why you're so attached," he chuckled. The Doctor truly wished at that moment the fire was a little brighter so he could definitively say that he'd witnessed one of her alleged little smiles. There was a brief concern that perhaps he was being a tad creepy, because he certainly had to watch her very closely if he wanted to catch a glimpse of those faint signs of happiness. Humans were more often than not so expressive that the mood was contagious. "Is everyone like that on Earth now? So private and reclusive that they each have their own little observatory on every mountaintop on the planet~?"

Caligo felt her eye twitch slightly, catching his jab at her. "I hope you understand that my circumstances make me an extremely insignificant fraction of the population."

"Oh come now. The devil's in the details they say."

"Isn't that quite the truth? When did people say things like that?"

"Way back in the day for you. In fact, long before the time of your ancestors I bet. Can't even begin to imagine where that came from but I feel like it came from an elderly man once…"

"Before you begin reminiscing on your adventures that would surely take all of the time and space you've been traveling to regale, Earth is…quite different from a few hundred years ago."

She certainly knew how to make a man feel old… The Doctor shrugged and cast his gaze toward her. "Well you **did** want to go back to a city. How's about a look around Pillar?" He grinned a little and Caligo lost all hope of the idea that she might be able to convince him to take them to another human colony far away from Earth.

It wasn't that it was such an unpleasant place, but it definitely wasn't one she found herself in by choice. He obviously would've made fun of the lengths she went to just to avoid trips into civilian territory but her own irrational discomfort aside, what harm could it do? Trouble might seem to be following them but they also always found a way out of it.

"I suppose I could do with a trip back to my lab. The state of things has been on my mind quite a bit recently."

"Poster child for Workaholics Anonymous you are."


	6. Chapter 6

Glad I could get this up relatively on time. Got some work to catch up on but nothing really major. What I should be catching up on is sleep but really. Once you're on a roll with something do you stop just because you're tired?

Anyway, the schedule should stay the same regardless of the fact my lab project is starting up and midterms are rearing their ugly heads. If anyone has time I'd like to ask for another beta or two maybe? I think I've lost all of my usual betas to Mystic Messenger hell;;;; I'll be honest, Jaehee is my absolute favorite and as Ghost says, Jumin is everyone's problematic favorite. Mystic Mistake man, mistaaaaake;;;

Anyway, thanks to all of my betas for this chapter, all of my references and such. I really need to make myself a proper list. Disclaimer on Doctor Who but damn this is fun to do B)

* * *

It didn't take very much convincing on Caligo's part to get the Doctor to park the Tardis in the observatory after the last time they'd left the big blue box in the middle of the sidewalk. If the civilian law enforcement in Pillar were also the type to shoot first and interrogate one's corpse later, they'd end up in the same mess as before most likely.

"Okay then. How are we getting down from here? Gliders," he asked, gesturing to the collapsed glider she'd now removed from her leg holster.

"No. That's much too dangerous. It's very cold up here Doctor. Perpetually snowing and the wind chill would be enough to give you hypothermia."

"I sort of like the cold… Nice and refreshing. Feels good."

"Not at twenty below," she said with finality. Caligo paused a moment in front of a blacked out computer screen to examine her appearance. Her hair was neatly pulled back despite its wild appearance that really was beyond all help. Her jacket had no unsightly scratches, scuffs or tears, jeans neatly tucked into her polished, standard issue matte black boots and not a lace out of place. Fairly acceptable for her. The last and most crucial detail; her rank insignia…

"All set?" The Doctor strode over to her side of the room and looked at the monitor with her, smiling. "What're we looking at in here? It's off isn't it?"

Caligo stepped away the moment she was sure the silver insignia was straight, the black skull showing with an ominous gleam in the light. She swiped a helmet off from one of many equipment racks and held it out to him. "Safety first. You're going to need this."

He really had to admire the condition she kept her things in. The helmet was simple, looking made for a motorbike and shiny enough to see his own reflection in. "Is black your favorite color? Noticed most of your things are black but your entire lab is silver and white."

"I don't favor one color over others. It's simply standard issue for most of my gear and rather pointless to be bothered by something as insignificant as color."

"Ah but colors can say a lot about a person. Maybe they're peppy pink or hot rod red or – Oi! Are we leaving already?" The Doctor quickly followed Caligo who had left the second 'peppy pink' left his mouth without once looking back. "Bit rude to just walk off like that," he grumbled, a little hurt.

Caligo was beyond being apologetic however. "Doctor, I'm not sure if you realize but you've a tendency to talk a lot and I figured you would most certainly be able to continue while walking." In the five or so minutes it took them to make it down to her shuttle bay, the lieutenant wondered just when exactly she had perfected tuning out the sounds of civilian conversation. Since when had it become almost distasteful to hear another person's voice? "How odd," she murmured.

Before he could even ask if she'd been listening to him at all Caligo had put her helmet on and gestured for him to do the same. It looked like any other motorbike helmet he'd seen before, though a full face visor wasn't quite his style. "Minus twenty-degree weather. I think I can understand a bit," he sighed, putting it on. It was dark for the first few seconds until the visor seemed to suddenly adjust itself. His field of vision was as clear as ever even behind the dark visor.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yikes! Hundred percent better. How," he stammered, having been caught off guard for the moment. Caligo's voice was level and detached as ever and coming in clear as a bell as if she were standing right next to him.

"High grade speakers ensure that team members can easily communicate at distance and in poor weather conditions such as the ones outside." She swung her leg over one side of what looked to be a motorbike without wheels, straddling the seat and adjusting the handles for a minute. "Get on."

It was more of a command than an invitation, but then again she was the boss here. He hopped onto the back of the bike with a little less grace than her and wrapped his arms around her middle innocently enough. The Doctor briefly contemplated teasing her with a hug but almost certainly wouldn't put it past her to make the ride and potentially the landing as uncomfortable for him as possible if he dared. "Just about the closest we've been since you tried to strangle me~" The bike roared to life beneath them and slowly rose to just about four feet off the ground. Clearly she was hell bent on ignoring him since he was sure that he could be heard over the engine.

"Don't get comfortable," the Doctor heard her say over the mic, "It's not that long of a ride."

"You just can't take a joke, can-" He swore that the only reason they were out of the gate so quickly was because she thought there was something amusing about constantly interrupting him. It didn't really matter though. At this point he was just trying to do his best not to fall off and not to hold onto anything higher than her stomach. How Caligo managed to navigate through this snowy mess was beyond him but as long as they got there alive and in one piece, why not trust her? It was the least he could do really.

Eventually the snow lightened into nothing at all and the frozen tundra gave way to a rocky mountainside dotted with vegetation and little critters scampering about. At last, there was an actual path he could see leading down the mountain into the large city at the base. It was long and winding and he was very glad that it didn't circle around the entire mountain. _That would take hours,_ he thought with just the slightest tinge of impatience.

Along the entire circumference of the city was a large steel wall at least forty feet in height and another twelve to fifteen feet of electric fencing. A pylon of matching height joined every forty foot section of wall and wiring and the dull gray steel looked as if it were very well maintained. The entire structure looked to be extremely stable and would certainly deter a great number of invading forces for sure, but there was something at the base lined along the entire wall that caught his eye. As Caligo's bike slowed to a crawl, the more time the Doctor took to staring at those slightly discolored sections of metal and the longer he looked, the more they began to appear.

"Identification," a clearly masculine voice suddenly demanded, though the soldier that caught his attention seemed to be only addressing Caligo rather than him. He didn't look terribly friendly, which only made the Time Lord more tense when he remembered their last visit to a human colony. Caligo's track record when it came to interacting with large men holding guns wasn't looking too great.

The soldier's sudden appearance didn't phase Caligo in the slightest. It was a regular occurrence after all. Caligo turned slightly so that the insignia on her left sleeve was visible, along with the matte black skull sealed into it.

"Pass," the man muttered gruffly, and the sudden distaste in his tone wasn't missed by either Caligo or the Doctor. The only one who cared was the latter, however.

The Doctor was about to reach for his psychic paper tucked away in his coat when Caligo produced an actual pass, though he couldn't imagine what it was for. This was her home but he couldn't help feeling that it was like living in a prison.

Eventually it seemed that the soldier was satisfied with the document presented to him and passed it back to Caligo with no semblance of politeness. "You've got two days on it. Better not see your sorry hide back here until you get it renewed." He and his partner stepped out of their way and the gate behind them opened with a low grinding sound.

The city of Pillar itself didn't look much more inviting than the walls surrounding it and the Doctor quickly got the impression that its residents were even less so. The streets were still occupied by groups of people here and there smoking cigarettes, drinking and talking and the road itself was only moderately lit by light strips running along the boundaries of lanes and sidewalks.

"Try not to be too alarmed. This is quite normal for this time of the evening. The effects of the solar flares simply put on more stress that civilians don't need and most tend to be grumpy but they usually aren't hostile." Caligo pulled over to the emptier of two sides of the street and shut the engine off before looking back at him. "You appear to be in one piece."

It sounded like a joke, at least to him. The Doctor chuckled as he finally removed the helmet and hung it off of one of the bike's handles. There was a little nip in the air that he caught on to. It must've been the start of winter here, though he couldn't quite see his breath just yet. The Doctor's gaze swept across their surroundings, taking in what little there was to see. The movement of people slowed at their landing, and groups certainly made sure not to get in their way. "So what's been going on here as of late? Concerts? Street fairs? Parades?"

Caligo hesitated a moment, not that she needed to think about what the answer to all of that was, but whether or not to tell him that. _He really doesn't care for such things. The reality of the situation is that people have more or less lost such customs with all of the fighting that's been done over the years. All it's been is waiting for the next invader. Planning the next attack. What greater purpose would a truthful answer serve him but make him feel depressed?_ Don't tell people things they don't need to know. That had always been a good rule to abide by. "I couldn't say, but I haven't heard of any. You're better off asking someone else about it, if they would know."

"You don't celebrate birthdays? Thanksgiving? Christmas?"

"No?"

It truly astounded the Doctor that none of these occasions seemed to register to her. "Boxing day?" The almost uncomfortable look she was giving him was most likely a no.

"I don't know what that is."

"Okay. We need to do some serious work with you." Caligo's protests to whatever it was he was suggesting were quickly cut off as the Doctor strode off down the street. He didn't know where to start or how long it would take, but there was a desperate need to find a party store. "You said that it's December right?"

"Yes it is but I don't understand-"

"We need a tree and some lights and some cookies and milk. And music. What's the holidays without music?"

"Doctor, please. I don't understand what you need such things for in the city. They're pointless." The alien ahead of her simply waved her off, completely absorbing himself in his own thoughts, whatever those might be. Already she recognized that it was rather hard to derail him off a certain train of thought whenever he was upset, though there was still the question of what exactly it was that got him so worked up in the first place. It must've been something a normal person understood despite the fact that the Doctor was anything but normal. _I've never had a good understanding of normal people I suppose._

"Oi. There you go again ignoring me."

Caligo's dark eyes shot up to see him facing her with not an irritated expression, but one of obvious worry and that same confusion that seemed to plague her whenever she was faced with these strange outbursts of his. "I was simply thinking that I don't know of a store that sells, ah, decorations. Not in Pillar, at least." _He's worrying about something. Does this have to do with this holiday nonsense that he keeps going on about?_

"Well that's too bad," he murmured, taking a quick glance around the street before spotting a man walking along across the way and very much minding his own business. "Back in a flash. Just need directions."

The Doctor was clearly a fan of running because the Time Lord could certainly move. He caught up to the man – possibly in his late forties, Caligo guessed – and stopped him easily enough.

"Sorry. Would you by any chance happen to know where we could find a party store," he asked as politely as possible. The Doctor smiled at the man who in turn regarded him with obvious wariness.

"Who's 'we'," he asked, taking a small step back to regain his bubble of personal space, "All's I see is you mate."

The Doctor made a quick gesture to Caligo still standing across the street, about as lively as a statue, although he'd bet on his life she wouldn't move if you blinked. "My friend and I. Thought we'd decorate her place for Christmas and-"

The man practically jumped back a foot from him and looked visibly appalled. "Your friend? You're either nuts or you're playing me but either way, get lost. You and your sorry lot stay well away from me or I'll call the MPs on you. Hear me?" He ducked around the Doctor to shoot a piercing glare at Caligo and shouted, "Hear me Draug? I see you near me and I'll have you walled in like the rest those miserable things!"

"Bit uncalled for don't you think," the Doctor scolded in vain. The man was off in a hurry before he could stop him, but what he didn't realize was that Caligo had made her way over to the two while his back was turned. That man moved like someone who was afraid.

"Leave him be Doctor. You won't find any answers to questions from the people here." Caligo's voice remained cool and unaffected by such biting words. Her flesh-and-bone hand came to rest gently on his arm and she gave him a small smile. Hollow as it was, the expression was nevertheless as gentle as her touch. "I believe I might know of a place that sells the small decorative things you were referring to."

He might've almost been fooled if not for his skepticism of the authenticity of her smile. _I can ignore it for now I guess. Must make her uncomfortable, that big scene and all._ The Doctor did his best to return her smile, though it's almost as fake as hers and allows her to lead the way this time. The streets of Pillar might've been fairly empty but he couldn't help noticing how people were going to rather surprising lengths to stay out of their way. After all, the sidewalk alone could easily accommodate three people walking shoulder to shoulder and still let a person past them. While he was inwardly glad to have her focus on something other than building shields for the Tardis, he couldn't let go of what the man had said. What could he have meant by 'walling her in'? What was a Draug? "Humans can be so confusing at times," he sighed, milling over the thought.

"Yes they can be. I wouldn't put so much thought into it however. It doesn't make understanding them any easier."

The Doctor laughed. "You do remember which of us is the alien here right?"

"Of course I do. It's most fitting to say that I don't share the same perspective as a human." Caligo came to a stop in front of a rather small and dingy looking building. The sign hanging above the glass door said 'Patty's House of Hobby' and the little wooden puppets, trains and toy cars in the display windows gave it a welcoming feel.

As the two entered the shop, an elderly woman with frazzled, bride-of-Frankenstein hair behind the counter adjusted her thick rimmed librarian glasses and smiled warmly at them. "Welcome~ What might you kids be looking for today?"

"Yes. Party stuff. Something festive like…Christmas! Do you like parties? I think the best one I'd been to recently was in Rome. Lovely summer solstice festival. They really do **like** to party but the French! Oh," he almost crooned, "They **know** how."

"Young man." The elderly woman gave him the smile of someone who had experienced much in her lifetime, although it was surely dwarfed by his in comparison, and gripped his arm with a bony hand. "You don't go on talking about your love life when you're out with your lady. Nothing classy about it and you sure aren't impressing anyone."

"What? No, I'm not-"

Caligo, stone faced, addressed the woman coolly. "You are mistaken Patricia Nelson. There is no sentimental relationship between him and I and I don't know how you came to that absurd conclusion." Whether she noticed that the Doctor looked one hundred percent offended by the statement or not was a moot point when the elderly woman's eyes lit up at the sight of the young engineer.

Patricia took off her glasses and swiped away a suspicious eyelash that seemed to have landed in her eye. "Can't you at least pretend to be happy to see me again," she more or less croaked, voice scratchy and perhaps a little choked.

Caligo's stone like expression almost immediately fell into a lazy smile and her rigid body posture fixed with a slight slouch. Again, the Doctor couldn't help but note the hollowness in the emotions his companion appeared to be portraying. The execution and the accuracy of her actions was a little too perfect, a little too predictable to be natural. The Doctor noted that perhaps this was her tactic to manipulate an individual as she had tried to the first time they had been separated. Anger, irritation, restlessness and wariness were all genuine traits of Caligo Valgus. Not happiness, nor kindness, pity or contentment. The closest she had ever been to such things was a solemn acceptance of reality and the lieutenant was blatantly lying to this woman. Surely even her old eyes could see that.

But as the woman stepped out from behind the counter and wrapped frail looking arms around the young adult, she seemed quite content with this little lie. "That's more like it sweet pea," she crooned like a grandmother. "Haven't seen you 'round these parts much since you were at the depot last. Thought you went and got your li'l butt frozen off in the snow up there." The sentimental moment was broken when the elderly lady stepped back and swatted Caligo on the arm with a satisfying smack. "Seven years girl! You go off and vanish for seven god forsaken years," Patricia swore loudly, a mixture of anger and sadness and hurt in her voice, "An' you didn't even come to say g'bye..."

"I'm sorry Patricia. I really am. I was," Caligo paused, trying to think of the right words. In the end, she thought up a lie and right quick, the Doctor was sure of this. "Out of commission, to put it simply. Since Wilhelm died I have had to put somethings in order. Myself too."

Patricia removed her glasses in a respectful gesture to the mention of her deceased partner and nodded. "Smart of you, but you could've at least said goodbye, don't you think? Two of you used to come in here once a week and buy little things like stickers 'n thread. Sure made my day a heck of a lot brighter." The elderly woman sighed dreamily as if she could recall the two young officers browsing the isles of her little shop nearly a decade ago. A tear welled up in the corner of her eye which she was quick to whisk away.

The tear didn't escape Caligo's notice. The slightest crack in her façade was visible, but only for a moment. "What's the matter?"

"I'm getting old sweet pea," Patricia whispered, "Don't grow old girlie. You get to be too sentimental for your own good when you get old."

The Doctor knew such things far too well. There wasn't anything wrong with being sentimental, but sometimes hindsight made the memories that much more bittersweet. Patricia's eyes were brimming with tears that neither she nor Caligo knew what to do about. He was little more than a semi-confused third party but he couldn't help feeling sorry for the woman. The Doctor caught her looking his way now and warily returned a smile to the Patricia's saddened expression.

The elderly woman sniffled and hastily wiped her eyes dry before returning her glasses to their proper place. "Enough of that. That's not what you kids came in here for. Now. You said you wanted some holiday things?"

"We don't want to trouble you…"

Patricia smacked Caligo's arm lightly and frowned as she shuffled out from behind the counter. "You two came all this way. Least I can do is let you walk away with something," she muttered, heading for one of the aisles near the back of the shop. Not quite wanting to wait, the two followed her down a row of old Christmas sweaters, antique beer steins, tacky garden leprechaun statues and even a pin that said, 'Kiss me, I'm Irish' on it that looked as if it would fall apart if one were to touch it. "Here we are," she grunted, pulling out a cardboard box from an old cabinet.

In all its dust covered glory were twisted coils of silver and gold tinsel, multicolored yarn dolls of Santa Clause and a red nosed reindeer, big old window stickers and what looked to be an old quilt. Patricia smiled and pressed the box into Caligo's hands. "About to be Christmas I reckon, if my calendar is right that is. Heck, it must be Christmas all the time up there on Blackridge. Lord knows why you decided to make a little house on the hill there," she muttered. Again, the elderly woman gave Caligo's arm a light smack before shuffling back to the counter.

"How much do I-"

"You can pay me back by coming to visit me some time," she hollered, fixing the two with a scowl.

The Doctor wanted to laugh at the woman's odd character but thought better of it. "Oh don't worry. I'll make sure she does," he assured her.

"I'll hold you to that, you two." Her scowl softened into a motherly smile, eyes threatening to tear up again when she looked at Caligo. "I'll see you soon sweet pea."

"Soon," Caligo replied. The idea of visiting seemed to float around in her head for a moment before she gave an approving nod. "Soon… Thank you Patricia."

The two eventually made it out of the store but were blanketed in an odd sort of silence. The Doctor was fairly certain that Caligo and Patricia the shop keep were in no way related but must've at least been familiar to each other. "Kids," he scoffed. "I'm 903 years old and she's calling me a kid?"

"You look like one."

"Good- _ness_ ," he groaned loudly, "Sarcastic and witty. What am I going to do with you and that mouth of yours?"

"Put food in it. It must be about time to eat. Some of the establishments should be open and traveling on an empty stomach is never a good idea."

She didn't need to be forceful. It was easy to see that she was the one in charge of their little excursion, but the Doctor was content to let this be so. He did ask for the tour after all and she knew better than he did. "Do you still have fish and chips in this era," he asked, trying his best not to get his hopes up.

"Fish and chips," she murmured. Caligo surveyed the row of what appeared to be eating establishments, some with lit signs and others shut down for whatever time of day it seemed to be. Her eyes settled on a tavern that seemed to be opening only now but there was definitely a bit of hesitation there. "Yes, there is a place…" She always felt a sort of unease when approaching a civilian establishment, but somewhere in her mind she knew that was a direct contradiction to what she was. A Draugr wasn't supposed to feel and so, she pushed the thought to the very back of her mind in some dark corner. It wasn't out of fear, but self-preservation. Fear was a luxury she couldn't afford…

The tavern worker was just setting up some of the bar glasses when the two of them entered the building. He looked friendly at first until he got a better look at the cold expression on Caligo's face. The Doctor playfully nudged her and murmured, "Bloke behind the counter looks worried. I don't know about you but I didn't think I looked that scary~ Is it the teeth you think? I've been brushing twice a day every day for the last two hundred some years." He laughed, but the humor of the situation eluded his companion. The two took a seat in a booth and the Doctor went straight to the menu on his side of the table to see what eating in this century was like. He was honestly expecting to find things like burgers made from the Pitbull sized Arananthi beetles from Ceres or Witch's fingers made from the tree like parasite lurking in the darker half of the Milky Way but whether he was disappointed or not to find that this wasn't the case, he didn't say. No, the menu of the tavern had things like regular beef burgers, curly fries, apple and banana cream pies and, of course, fish and chips.

The Doctor had been so absorbed in reading over the menu that he probably hadn't noticed that Caligo hadn't even touched hers once, the latter preoccupied with their surroundings. The worker at the counter was watching them with great caution and anyone who had been looking to enter the area had been deterred by her presence for the most part. A few individuals though, most likely coming off from a late work shift at one of Pillar's many electrical grid maintenance stations, had entered the establishment and were now sitting at the bar speaking in hushed tones with the lone employee. They would glance over at their table every now and then, their looks not friendly but not quite something she needed to form a contingency plan for just yet. Attempting to dissuade their attention toward her, Caligo looked back at the Doctor who was slowly unwrapping a straw, his menu on the dessert portion already. He seemed completely unaware of the unrest of the other patrons and that was fine with her. Him enjoying his stay was her mission objective for the time being and so far that seemed to be going smoothly enough.

"Honestly. How long have we been sitting here for? Last I checked we were the first ones here and he hasn't come over to take our order yet. I might have a time machine but I'm not about to spend it waiting for food. Excuse me!"

Of course she could have jumped the gun on that thought. The man behind the counter visibly cringed when he heard and saw the Doctor attempting to wave him over. The night shift workers didn't seem too happy to hear him either. Still, the man mustered as much nerve as he could before coming over to their table.

"What do you want," he asked, more nervous than gruff.

"Well," the Doctor started, a healthy smattering of sarcasm to boot. "considering this is a tavern we kind of want food and something to drink."

"Look man. You're probably new to this or some shit but we don't serve folks like you. This is me telling you nicely…" The man turned slightly toward Caligo, giving her a look that could only be described as nasty. "...to get the hell out of my diner."

There was no disguising the shift in mood from the Doctor now as all eyes in the diner were on them. There was no winning this fight. "Apologies sir." Caligo quickly stood from her seat and bid him to follow suit. If they wanted to avoid a confrontation they would need to move quickly and keep their mouths shut. The Doctor didn't like this at all. Yes he got up, and it was amazing how much more imposing this lanky man suddenly seemed. "Doctor."

"Just a second Cal." He held up a hand to her before she could start arguing back and kept his eyes fixed on the man. The Doctor was smiling but he already had a strong feeling that he didn't like this fellow. "What exactly do you mean by 'folks like us'?" He was focusing so intensely on the man that he didn't notice Caligo's eyes sweeping over the crowd of onlookers. He knew that no one was happy about the situation but no one was unhappier about it than him. It had been so long since he had encountered such a backwards attitude toward aliens but it sure never got old…

The man's expression waivered but not in a way the Doctor had seen before. He was used to seeing just a tad bit of fear, uncertainty in the eyes of his adversaries but this man's smugness gave way to something he was all too familiar with; hatred. He leaned in close to the Doctor, eyes training on his companion and sneered venomously, "Why don't you ask that dirty little Draug."

It was like all the tension in the room coiled up in a spring and exploded at that moment. Caligo was quick to grab hold of the Doctor and leapt over the booth seat, sprinting for the exit. The heavy pressure of a hand grabbing her shoulder forced her to let go of him for a moment to handle their aggressors. _Protocol One: Minimal force is authorized in the defense of a civilian from other civilians._ Caligo honestly couldn't understand why the Doctor constantly insisted on getting between her and the aggressors to stop the fight but it certainly wasn't making her job easy. The two had finally been forced out of the diner and into the street by the other angry patrons but the fight didn't stop there. The world turned on its side when she felt something practically explode against her right temple and someone yelled out.

Any attempts to pull the descending attackers off of her was more than useless. There were just too many of them and the Doctor himself felt an elbow connect with his jaw for getting too close. It was only when a car pulled up and what he could only assume to be two police officers in uniform get out. He was about to approach them when one drew her pistol and fired off two shots into the air, blowing out a nearby streetlight. The other had his gun trained not on the dispersing mob, but Caligo who was crouched down on the ground in the center. "On your feet," one officer called out gruffly, gun still aimed at her. "Get up!"

Slowly, it seemed, was the only speed at which she could obey but the woman stood up nevertheless. Caligo held her posture straight as a lamp post as usual despite the bruises and scratches peppering her skin. A thin stream of blood ran down the right side of her face only to disappear beneath the collar of her leather jacket. The Doctor locked eyes with her briefly for a moment, some semblance of relief in them before addressing the officers.

"Draugr Lieutenant Caligo H. Valgus. There has been an incident."

"Hands behind your back Draug! You move, I shoot!" The officer nearly had a heart attack when the Doctor suddenly placed himself yet again between trouble and Caligo, fumbling his gun a little. "Step out of the way where it's safe sir!"

"Easy now. We don't really need those do we? Guns," the Doctor scoffed. "Hang on now. I've got something to show you alright?" Slowly, the Doctor reached into his coat and pulled out his psychic paper, opening it slowly to show it to them. It was the woman who took it from him, scrutinizing whatever was on it for a good long minute.

The officer's gaze narrowed at him in suspicion. "What's a health inspector got to do with a rogue Draug?"

 _Honestly! What's with everyone and this word 'Draug'? Tossing it around like it's some dirty slang_ , he thought to himself for a moment. "Ah, yes. I asked for an escort. Not quite comfortable in new places and I can see this is a rough crowd." The Doctor cast a glance back at the patrons from the diner, all watching with a morbid sort of fascination. The explanation seemed to make enough sense to them, thankfully, and the male officer finally put away his weapon. The Doctor sighed in relief. "Right. We'll be needing someone to take a look at her injuries if you don't mind." The female officer was looking at him with all the suspicion one human could muster.

"You hurt at all?"

"No, but-"

"Then get out of here." The female officer walked up to him and held the psychic paper up. "I don't know who or what you are but clearly you don't come from these parts. This'll be your **only** warning." She shoved the paper back into his hands roughly and locked eyes with him. "I better not run into you two ever again or else I'll turn that thing and you over to Central and trust me when I say you don't want that to happen to you. Get your ass outta my sight."

Caligo didn't budge until the two officers had gotten back into their car and left. She kept her voice low, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear. "We must do as they said Doctor. Before someone gets hurt."

He looked at her as if she had gone mad at that moment and almost instantly regretted it. She was bruised and battered and surely tired. She needed to go home. Get somewhere safe first and they could always talk about it later…

There was nothing calm about the Doctor when they had finally made it back to the observatory. He promptly abandoned his helmet on some open countertop and whipped around to face the lieutenant who had followed him with the coolness of a cat. "What was that," he blurted out suddenly, clearly taken aback by the day's sharp turn of events.

"I'm afraid you must clarify Doctor." Caligo gently placed her helmet down beside his and retrieved a first aid kit from one of the storage cabinets nearby. The wound on her temple had stopped bleeding sometime during the ride, but Caligo could feel shards of glass with the slightest twitch of her facial muscles. Somewhere in her mind she registered that her eye stung a little.

The Doctor had begun to pace while she worked at the wound with a small compact mirror, a pair of tweezers and some antiseptic cream. "That whole thing back at the diner! And that man before we found Patty's shop! Did you conveniently forget about the guards?"

"I doubt she would approve of you calling her Patty."

"Don't change the subject on me," he shot back, lacking any sort of mirth. "What's all this Draug business? You're keeping the city running aren't you? They're talking like they hate you."

Caligo stopped and put the mirror and tweezers down on the countertop. She had been hoping to avoid this ever since he suggested the idea of touring around Pillar. As it always seemed to be with her, the worst things were inevitable. "That is because they do." Caligo dampened a small hand towel by the sink and began to clean away the dried blood on the side of her face, turning to face him just a little. "The designation for my kind is Draugr, a term in what was once the old Norse language meaning "again walker" or undead. Draug is a sort of slur, if you will." She could see the confusion and anger on his face, such a human reaction. "The device on my neck is not for decoration. It is fused to the spines of the deadliest weapons Central command has ever created to ensure obedience without hesitation. It dulls emotional responses and if a Draugr should die for any reason, it ensures that we are still capable of completing our mission objective."

"They make corpses work," he asked, appalled by the idea.

"We are considered objects akin to that of a gun or toaster because we lack the morality of a human."

"Because they took it from you."

"It is the only mercy afforded to us."

"Mercy," he repeated, appalled at the notion. "How is that showing you mercy? Taking away your free will, your feelings. How is taking away your humanity showing you mercy?" It baffled the Time Lord to realize that his companion was perhaps genuinely resigned to her fate. This fate. Someone as smart as he was simply couldn't comprehend the logic behind it.

Caligo studied him for a moment and mentally taking note of his reaction. This wasn't the Earth he knew. "Say you have a choice, Doctor. In your hands rests the means to save countless individuals, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands if not more others. For the greater majority to survive, an entire planet must burn."

The Time Lord's jaw clenched at her words and hands slowly curled into tight fists. Every particle of his entire being was screaming. "You don't have to choose. Sacrificing lives should **never** be an option." The Doctor saw her smile. Not a real one. More like the pretend smiles she used to trick Patricia from the shop and it still made his blood boil like fire.

"We don't end up with this option by choice. We just tend to be able to stomach the consequences of our actions. It has always been easier for people to hate those responsible for making unpopular decisions." She could feel the anger and distain radiating from him like heat from a fire. Oddly enough, it made her extremely…hesitant to continue speaking. Hesitance. It made her incapable of action and yet the sensation was an anomaly in her mind. Ignoring the odd response to the Doctor's palpable anger, she picked up a canister of antiseptic spray from the first aid kit and continued tending to her wound. "The shield system on your ship is functional. You are free to travel as you wish, be it in this time period or elsewhere."

"What of you then," he practically growled.

Caligo didn't so much as glance in his direction as she taped a patch of gauze over the mess of glass cuts. "I completed my mission aboard your craft and will resume my duties here as we agreed to." She wasn't surprised to hear the strange wheezing sound the Tardis made when he took off some time later. Caligo wasn't a fool. One didn't need to be a genius to see the ghost of horrors past lurking in the Doctor's eyes from time to time. She had struck a nerve in hopes of making him understand why things happened the way they did today but she had miscalculated the effect it had on him. "I understand now why I was never placed on a personal protection detail," she murmured to no one in particular.


	7. Chapter 7

Wow, things are coming up faster than I thought it would. There's a lot for me to do this month! So on that note, posting might slow down in November and December, maybe even January depending on how out of my skull I am by the time my wisdom teeth are taken out.

Thanks again to Ghost, Nico, Yen and Killer for beta reading my stuff, I did make a few edits because I'm getting nitpicky about this sciency stuff despite not really studying ANY of the science disciplines involved and this is science fiction after all so anything goes haha!

Disclaimer on all things

* * *

It was quiet all throughout the Tardis. No shuffling of feet, tools clanging around or little robots hiding under his chair. The Tardis' engines were like white noise to him, having traveled with her for so long and his own footsteps could only drown out so much of the silence. Of course he didn't stay cooped up in that blue box of his for long. Nothing stopped him from roaming about time and space as he pleased. He revisited the Renaissance period in England for a day or two and a few hours on the Titanic before it was doomed to sink. He found himself drinking wine at a feast in ancient Greece one evening but the thing he had found to be the strangest for him was checking in on Donna.

Of course he couldn't just walk up to her and say hello but it was still comforting to see her. Wilfred had gotten a dog it seemed and he could hear his former companion going on about something.

"Well of course he's gonna have an accident if you leave him alone and cooped up in the house all day! He can't help it. What do you want him to do when he needs to go and no one's around to take him out? Hunker down in the loo with the sports section?"

The argument was beyond strange and he couldn't help laughing about it on his own at first. But then he got to thinking. More specifically about the lieutenant back in Blackridge. The thought of her still made his jaw clench but the more he thought about it, the more he thought she couldn't help it. Like the Noble's dog, she had been stuck in a particular situation and perhaps there was a clear answer to him but there was something preventing her from avoiding 'accidents'. She couldn't help the orders that Central Command handed to her.

The Tardis had gotten to scanning Caligo once she realized that she would be spending some time on board with him. The old girl had confirmed that the funny silver spots on the back of her neck were more than just some sort of discoloration or, the gods forbid, some sort of patch for an old injury. Those metal plates were fused to her body that definitely affected her behavior. He could've kicked himself for not thinking about it sooner and more so for their last encounter. How long it had been since that day didn't matter but he honestly didn't want her to still be cross with him when he came back. "Two weeks ought to give her time to cool off don't you think?" The Tardis groaned as he flipped the switch.

 **-Blackridge Observatory: December 24** **th** **, 02:47 am-**

The ride and landing was much smoother this time around thanks to the shield system the lieutenant had put in for him on their last meeting. The Doctor figured he had landed in what was probably her bedroom. It was early morning according to the clock sitting on her nightstand and she wasn't in her bed. Lit candles were placed around the room and with the sheets a complete mess, he was starting to wonder if perhaps he had come at a bad time for her…

Pushing that thought aside he moved on, navigating halls lined with even more candles and eventually came to the observatory room. At the end of the hall he could see a familiar figure standing in front of several brightly glowing monitors, completely unaware of his existence. The Doctor almost called out to her when a familiar steel blue drone abruptly blocked the doorway. His face scrunched up a little when he saw that it was one of the lieutenant's personal drones, Wilhelm. He couldn't believe he was actually having a stare down with the hovering nuisance…when the machine backed down first, much to his surprise. The Doctor proceeded with caution into the barely lit room. "You should turn on a light. Bad for your eyesight, all this," he said, hoping to startle her just a little.

"The observatory's power grid is on reserves until I am able to fix the main grid in Pillar."

She didn't sound the least bit surprised that he was there, nor did she seem to care. The Doctor might've been hurt by the notion that she couldn't care less about his presence but the mention of that backwards city almost made him cringe. The lighting from the monitors was just enough to see little cuts on the side of her chin but not the full condition of the previously bruised flesh.

"Or," he said, carefully removing his sonic screwdriver from his coat and aiming it at the observatory's main light, "I could do this." The large bulb suddenly clicked back on and flooded the room with light much to Caligo's surprise. "Stubborn piece of work. Couldn't make it easy on yourself, eh?" The Doctor turned back to face her and once again questioned whether or not he would've possibly interrupted something when the Tardis landed in her bedroom earlier. If he were being honest, he thought the lieutenant slept in her uniform but the too-big steel blue blazer and mussed hair said otherwise. Too big but not big enough apparently, inwardly questioning if that was in fact all she had for sleepwear. Underneath it she had black shorts and a white tank top but that was far too thin for the chilly weather here.

Caligo, noticing and taking advantage of his sudden lack of babbling, snatched the sonic screwdriver out of his hand and examined it. "Interesting device… I would like to have one of these."

"Well you can't have that one," the Doctor replied, snatching it back and tucking it away safely in his pocket. "Besides, tool's only as good as the person holding it, right?" She didn't smile – not that he was expecting it but he could still hope – or so much as make a sound to his remark. The thought that she could possibly be holding some form of a grudge against him from their last encounter did weigh in somewhere in the back of his mind… Caligo moved past him without a word, back down the hall he'd come from while the two drones worked on extinguishing the many candles lighting the way.

"The solar storm from your initial arrival flared up again and has been a constant nuisance ever since. Central command has been issuing constant warnings and updates to the public. Their most recent update was to inform civilians that the power restriction would be lifted one level effective today but the constant use of the system caused the computer to short out the city's power grid to maintain shield integrity. Hence the blackout just now," she explained. Caligo didn't waste time with shutting the door to her room and opted to change into something a little more appropriate right away.

The Doctor hung back in the hallway near the door when he caught sight of the blazer being tossed onto the edge of her bed. "I'm still trying to figure out if I'm offended by the welcome or lack thereof."

"What is the reason for this visit Doctor," she asked. No nonsense,as he had expected her to be.

The Doctor shrugged despite that she wouldn't have seen it anyway. "I just thought you could use a break from work. You need one and seeing that you're more or less incapable of taking one on your own," he said as casually as he could manage. The rustle of clothes and booted footsteps was all he could hear for a while. He hoped that it was just a lot of thinking that she was doing and not dressing up to kick him out.

"Should I be dressing any differently than usual?"

The Doctor couldn't help the grin that broke out across his face and dared to stroll back into her room. "That all depends on where you wanna go~" It was her choice. It needed to be. Their first trip he had taken her from one place to another in hopes of seeing that glimmer of wonder in her dull eyes again but it never quite seemed to work. He could guess at what she wanted but in the end never seemed to really be able to hit his mark. If he could just give her the freedom, the **choice** , then maybe this time around there didn't need to be any good-byes…

Caligo studied her reflection in a long mirror, searching for any sort of imperfections possibly lurking in her uniform. "Patricia shared some old records with me at my partner's funeral," she said, choosing her words with a little more care, "She thought that it might make me feel better if I drowned out the silence in the observatory." In a box behind the door to her room was a pile of old, essentially ancient vinyl records caked in layers of dust. "It's unfortunate to say that many of these are too damaged to be played." There was only one album that she had picked up, brushing enough dust to reveal the album art to him. "I want to know more about this band. The one called Kiss."

The Doctor was genuinely surprised that she pulled out a vinyl rock album, the format practically archaic and more importantly completely unrelated to her work. Genuine curiosity. Maybe that little inhibitor couldn't block out all of her emotions after all. "And here I thought you were going to ask me to do something a little harder like finding the lost city of Atlantis~"

"We can do that later. Will you take me to see this band?"

The Doctor grinned. "Allons-y~"

 **Roberts Municipal Stadium – Evansville, Indiana: November 23** **rd** **, 1975**

Materializing backstage in what appeared to be an equipment storage, the two crept out of the Tardis cautiously.

"I was expecting this to be more exciting," Caligo murmured, following the Doctor with all the stealth years of training and experience gave her.

"We're backstage~ Do you know what lengths people go to just to get backstage with their favorite band?"

"I imagine many acts of desperation and degrading oneself," she deadpanned. The mood was dying fast and it would probably just go downhill from there if they didn't find their way to the music and soon. Lucky for the both of them, it could be heard in the distance.

The Doctor gestured for her to follow, eventually leading her up to the entrance behind the stage where the band was playing. All it took was a few simple flashes of their 'backstage V.I.P.' psychic paper pass and they had probably the best seats in the house. "Gonna go deaf if we get any closer to those amplifiers," he warned above the roaring music. It only added insult to injury when he realized that Caligo was flat out ignoring him in favor of watching the lead singer and guitarist.

"Why would they pick costumes like this? It's a little intimidating…"

"It's rock and roll! You're supposed to be edgy and rebellious." The Time Lord froze pretty much the second he finished that sentence. Clearly he would need to find a better way to explain rebelliousness to the lieutenant. "Right. Anyway, you came here for the music didn't you? What do you think?"

Caligo's eyes never left the stage, her gaze now trained on the lead guitarist and his instrument. Her expression looked as if she were watching him from under a microscope in a lab. She couldn't quite decide which was more fascinating; the man or the machine he manipulated? "I think that it's quite interesting," was all the response the Doctor could manage from her for most of the concert.

Hours later, when the concert had finally come to an end, Caligo and the Doctor joined the other lucky backstage pass wielding fans to get a little up close and personal with the band.

"Excuse me," Caligo called, stopping the lead guitarist she had been keeping a keen eye on throughout the night, "Would you perhaps have a moment to sign this for me?"

"Just that? Second easiest thing I've done all night," he laughed, searching for a pen. Caligo produced one in an instant much to his surprise, making the guitarist a bit hesitant to take it at first.

The Doctor's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard the man call over his bandmates to look at the dusty old vinyl record Caligo had supplied for the autograph.

"Yknow I don't think this is our album?"

"Right, sorry for the mistake there! She was just so excited to get to the concert she just grabbed the first thing she saw on the way out," the Doctor cut in suddenly, yanking the album out of the guitarist's hands.

"Ah, yes. It seems I was more careless than I thought." Catching on quickly to his game, Caligo pulled a notepad out from her belt and handed it to the man with a blank page open. He signed it, giving them odd looks from time to time but eventually gave it back and the two beat a hasty retreat.

"What'd you go off and do that for?"

"I don't understand."

"Well for starters they probably haven't produced that album yet considering he didn't recognize it."

"I had no idea." She was surely being honest, but she couldn't help but feel just a twinge of annoyance with his outburst. The Doctor visibly rolled his eyes at her while she did it more to herself. Little moments of exasperation and annoyance flared up every now and then but they seemed to be happening more often than not these days…

The Doctor huffed slightly and handed the album back to her. "Make sure you do your homework before you start having people sign things. Don't want to _drastically_ alter the future now do you?"

"Indeed. What would become of Earth if such rebellious, anarchy endorsing music still existed in my time," she responded dryly.

The Doctor cringed a little as they entered a 24-hour diner and promptly took a booth seat with her. "Blimey! Your humor's so dry I think I need something to wash it down with."

"A rather rude comment."

"I'm also not ginger but proud to say it's been a good while since I've gone on about that until today." The Doctor noticed the way her eye twitched just a little while she tried to focus more on the menu than him. Eye twitching, he had realized early on, was a sure sign the little patience she had was wearing thin. "You liked it though didn't you? Can't tell me you didn't have fun."

"It was interesting," was all she said, keeping her eyes glued to the menu like the food they had was more interesting than him.

"That's it? Just interesting," he asked incredulously. "You're really making me work aren't you?"

Caligo finally set the menu down so that she could properly look at him. "It isn't that I don't appreciate the trouble you go through to bring me here. I just don't have the ability to feel much about it."

"It's that thing, isn't it," the Doctor said, gesturing very vaguely to her neck and trying to phrase it as a question but his tone showed he was still quite bitter about its existence.

The very edges of Caligo's lips quirked up as she came to a realization. He was bitter about it and she was the one who had to live with it stuck in her neck, constantly under its influence, being bent to someone else's will she may or may not have agreed with… She felt her head physically jerk to an odd angle, definitely not something she would've done of her own volition, a sharp pain in the back of her neck translated to something as a warning with teeth in her mind. The Doctor had noticed the odd twitch and while she was glad he didn't say anything of it, she had the feeling that he already knew what had caused it. "It does its job, Doctor. It's no different than what your sonic screwdriver does. It does what it's programmed to do."

"Then let's change that."

"You can't."

"Watch me."

"I mean that you literally couldn't. This isn't just an implant. It completely replaces this section of my spine and is a part of every other vertebrae. If you tamper with it, who can say what else would happen." Caligo looked down at her hands on the table. With her gloves off, the difference between metal and flesh were staggering to look at but it didn't help that it didn't feel – what would be a good word? Ah, yes - human. She felt she was almost as much an object as people made her out to be. "Machines don't always readily adapt when operating outside of their parameters," she murmured quietly.

The Doctor could've kicked himself at that moment. He nearly almost did if it weren't for the fact that it would probably definitely make the mood that much worse. He had come back to patch things up with her, not start the same old argument from last time again. But the thought of the incident in the diner two weeks ago wouldn't stop bugging him. "Well we're in no hurry to get you back to Blackridge, right? We'll get there eventually but we've got a time machine so no excuse not to take the long way around eh?" If he were being honest though, he didn't want to go. He didn't want her to have to go either because he didn't need anything more than that one experience in Pillar to know that going back there was like going back to a prison.

Caligo did her best to try and follow the Doctor's train of thought through the look in his eyes alone. She had learned to focus on people's eyes after so many years because when she was constantly surrounded by people who were practiced liars or the occasional unfortunate Draugr, it was always hardest to keep the emotion from their eyes. She might've once heard that the eyes were the windows to one's soul, but how could that be if Draugr were soulless beings? "I'm not sure I understand what the "long way around" entails. The length of this trip? Or do you intend on coming back repeatedly?"

"As long as you like. We'll go back anytime and I'll be right there waiting the moment you wanna leave again. Knowing you we might pop back every five minutes or so to make sure the city hasn't completely burned to the ground," he teased and he was just the slightest bit relieved to see a hint of exasperation on her face. Settling right back into a familiar rhythm between them, the Doctor ordered up some fish and chips for them which had to be grievously explained to the waitress.

"Perhaps fish and chips haven't been brought to America yet in this era," Caligo suggested, albeit he couldn't figure out for the life of him why the little spark in her eyes made him think she was making a jab at him for earlier.

"Oi. That's different," he started but soon realized that she wasn't quite listening to him. Something was on her mind but if there was one thing he'd learned in the time he'd already spent with her was that she didn't share when it came to herself. _Now I suppose the better question is whether this is just her own traits bleeding through or they 'programmed' her to keep to herself_ , he thought, studying her dark eyes as she gazed out the diner window.

Caligo hadn't realized it right away but she found her thoughts drifting to Wilhelm. It wasn't a strange occurrence, seeing as they were constantly transmitting data between one another along their own private network so to speak. The danger in this was the fact that it wasn't the drone that preoccupied her thoughts, but the man he used to be. The concert, albeit a brand new experience and something she probably never would've had the chance to have with Wilhelm, was the first time she had heard any sort of live music in nearly seven years, perhaps longer. The pain at the base of her skull had been nagging at her since the Doctor's unexpected arrival and had steadily grown as the concert progressed, the twinge it had caused only being a matter of time. At the rate she was going, it was likely to continue to cause her pain through the night. She had gone through her best efforts to keep the steadily growing ache at the base of her skull at bay, reminding herself only briefly that dwelling on the past was dangerous but the memory of the man she once knew won out in the end. Wilhelm always did, she recalled, and something indescribable swelled in her chest before another more potent shock pulled her from her thoughts.

The Doctor nearly jumped out of his seat when Caligo suddenly lurched forward, the sound of grinding gears and protesting servos was alarmingly loud compared to the usual, almost inaudible hum even he barely picked up on when she simply stood idle. What worried him the most however was the way the nails of her fleshy fingers carved deep lines into the wooden table; wood shavings curled up as her hand balled into a tight fist. Her jaw was clenched tightly and muffled grunts slipped through gritted teeth. Caligo stayed doubled over for almost a full minute before the tension in her body had finally begun to dissolve. The Doctor took the opportunity to check her pulse – slowing down, thankfully, but coming down from what felt like she'd just ran a marathon.

"Cal? Lieutenant, say something."

"I'm fine, Doctor," she answered almost immediately. There wasn't there barest hint of, well, anything in her voice. No exasperation, irritation, nothing.

The term 'factory reset' had briefly popped into his mind as he guided her from their booth and back to the Tardis for a more thorough exam.

"They shouldn't be messing around with your brain like that," the Doctor muttered as he carefully observed the readings he'd taken with his sonic.

Caligo sat on the exam table, her posture having been rigid for nearly an hour now and very few signs of easing up. She was watching him with nearly the same intensity he did his equipment. Her two drones hovered annoyingly close by at her feet and around him like they were trying to involve themselves somehow. Reading the tension in the Doctor's posture, she silently ordered her drones into a sleep mode of sorts. "It was a forceful reset Doctor. It occurs when it is detected that a Draugr unit is not obeying its base protocols. You may compare it to punishing a disobedient child or perhaps restarting a computer system, I suppose."

"What rule could you have possibly broken by eating fish and chips in a diner!" Worry and annoyance came together in a volatile mix inside his gut, churning violently as he fought to keep himself from taking it out on her in lieu of the fool who'd put this blasted thing in her spine to begin with. It wasn't doing either of them any good and he certainly didn't want a repeat of last time… Convinced that she wasn't about to keel over again anytime soon, the Doctor pocketed his sonic and looked at her, brow slightly furrowed in thought.

Caligo's gaze tilted just a little as she observed him in turn. "You will surely be constantly aggravated by these occurrences the longer I remain. I don't think I can understand why you would constantly put yourself in such an unpleasant situation for my sake."

"It's a little complicated when you look at it. At least through your eyes I figure. But when I look at it all I see is something wrong that ought to be right instead."

"Perhaps. Though I believe you just look at things in a very… Human fashion for someone who is an alien."

"I've been around the Earth for a long time you know! But even then I still run into things that I don't understand from time to time…"

"Like me," she finished. "Or rather this situation." Caligo looked down at the steel blue drone sitting quietly at her feet. "Perhaps it isn't such a bad thing though. I might be in hysterics if not for this. How troublesome would that be? An excitable woman cooped up in your ship with you."

The Doctor nearly choked on his own spit, thoughts wandering a little trying to figure out exactly what it was that she meant by excitable. "Cal. Please." He could almost see a spark. Something in her eyes flickered like a candle flame. Oddly enough he got the feeling that she was amused by his reaction despite the reset having wiped out any trace of a personality. The resets were only temporary, it seemed, and so long as she felt that she was still within her role as the dutiful soldier it probably wouldn't happen again. It was an easy conclusion to come to, that he would have to manipulate her to an extent in order to give her just a little more freedom. _The irony in that_ , he thought. But the Doctor was clever. Terribly so and as much as he hated to say it, he could easily work with even these restrictions.

"Well seeing as I've got a knack for running into trouble and you don't seem to think one way or another about it, maybe I ought to keep you along for a little extra protection? That's your job isn't it? Protect the civilian and you certainly need to keep yourself in shape lieutenant. There's a gym around here somewhere probably but nothing like fresh air." Even though there was, but that wasn't his point. "Keep me in line for a while lieutenant."

Caligo's gaze fixed more firmly on his eyes as she contemplated what it was exactly he was insinuating. Stay with him, that much was clear, but under the pretense that he constantly needed someone to help him get out of trouble? The very notion caused some apprehension somewhere in her mind. It had been years since she had been in the field last and trouble was something they were never short of. _But Wilhelm and I survived much of it. Even Yuki, for a time._ The more she thought about it too, the more she came to realize that the Doctor had never once raised a fist to someone even when it was surely appropriate (she couldn't help thinking of their first trip out to that human colony in space). He had talked his way out of it which meant he really didn't need her to get out of trouble but here he was, asking anyway…

"The damsel in distress act really doesn't suit you. Not entirely at least." Caligo could feel the corners of her lips quirk up just the slightest bit when he gaped, surely at least partially offended by the insinuation before he caught on to her.

"Am I gonna have to put up with all your sass or do you just take a stab at everything?"

"Perhaps you'll have to wait and see Doctor."


	8. Chapter 8

WOW holy crap. I'm really sorry this isn't going along with my usual schedule but school just decided I needed to have my ass kicked. Bio exam, independent study project and chem exams holy crap. Work, school, etc. and not to mention, not only is the holiday season getting into full swing but Pokemon sun and moon came out too! I got moon, wow I'm going to destroy everything with my adorable bird party yes muahahahaha!

Well, at any rate, I'm going to try to get back on schedule. So here's this chapter, I don't own Doctor Who, and hopefully I don't get distracted with any other writing/school projects I'm getting started on. Not to mention video games. Damnit.

* * *

 _On the coldest mountain peak closest to Pillar, nothing stands for nearly a hundred miles but a weather worn metal structure in the distance. The wind whips violently and merciless through the thick layers of snow in silence. The run down building matches the feeling of the environment – Isolation. Solitude. Time and space are meaningless when one is all alone with their thoughts._

 _A solitary figure trudging through the foot and a half of snow understands all of this as they approach the frosted doors of the old and certainly abandoned observatory. Their small hand reaches out to push against it and a frail, almost skeletal appendage matching barely in its structure attempts to aid its owner. Eventually, the door is forced to give way for the first person to enter this building in nearly a century and the welcome is anything but warm. A large hole mares the dome like roof that once protected a now worthless telescope from the indifferent chill of the mountain wind. There is no running water because it froze in the pipes long ago. No warm corners exist for most of the panels of the walls have cracks and holes all around, letting the biting chill seep in without a care._

 _The figure's frame is lithe, mostly bare from the knees down and most certainly ill prepared for the chill of the mountain but there's hardly any thought given to that. The warmest clothing brought with them was little more than a fur lined cloak that reached down to pale, slightly scarred calves and heavy boots, tightly laced and waterproof. The clothing matters little though and soon the woman hiding beneath it, breathing deeply and heavily so that the frostbitten air would sear her tired lungs, shed the cloak's hood to get a better view of the decrepit state of things. It was certainly less than livable but she could have definitely cared less about that. She might die if she stayed there long enough and although that thought had crossed her mind it didn't linger there long before it was forced to the back of the line by something far greater that had followed her for the last few weeks._

 _In the loneliest structure atop the most barren mountain that stood closest to the last remaining human city on Earth, the isolation, the solitude and emptiness of the place filled her. It knotted itself at the very center of her chest, churning and swelling like something about to violently burst and soon enough, it erupted…_

Caligo's eyes shot open and quickly swept around the room, what sounded like a soft whimper drawing her from sleep. At first, the unfamiliar surroundings set alarms off in her mind until she remembered where she was and who she was with. This was a room in the Tardis, one that the Doctor had offered as hers if ever she suddenly found that she needed a "home away from home" as he said. Plain with four white walls, sparsely furnished with nothing but the necessities and a queen sized bed with navy blue sheets, it wasn't much different from her room back in the observatory. _Something of a comfort_ , she thought, although the thought wasn't terribly satisfying or reassuring. Still, she was appreciative that the Tardis was a rather accommodating ship and she made her way to the adjacent shower to clean up for whatever the Doctor had planned for the morning. Perhaps the Tardis was overcompensating for the temperature she was used to in Blackridge. She would have to talk to the Doctor about that because she honestly wasn't fond of the idea of waking up covered in sweat…

Despite the notion that the Doctor rarely slept, Caligo was still surprised to find him in the consul room fiddling with buttons and switches. Then again she really had no idea what time it was at this very moment. Had she still been in Pillar, it would've been roughly high noon. Another thought was that she would really need to reset her watch when she went back. The Doctor may have promised to get her back on the same day, perhaps even within the same hour but her clock would still be off and the thought caused her eye to twitch involuntarily. Caligo quickly pulled herself from her thoughts when she detected the sound of the Doctor's approaching footsteps.

"You're awake!"

He sounded extremely surprised. Caligo nodded briefly and watched as he circled around the consul as if to get a better look at her. He was wearing that blue pinstripe suit again, the same as when they had been caught in that alien marketplace with a psychotic sport hunting robot. While her first thought was that those few weeks to her might not have even been an entire day for him thanks to his time machine, it did occur to her that perhaps he had multiple pairs. Perhaps he fancied the color blue.

The Doctor looked up at her from the bottom of the stairs, dark, thick rimmed glasses perched at the end of his nose and staring up at her with just a hint of concern. "You sleep alright?"

"Did you?"

"Didn't once the entire time you were," he told her, almost sounding proud of the fact.

Although Caligo knew that the Tardis was sentient, he figured she didn't suspect that his lovely blue box was very aware of what went on inside just as much as outside of her. He probably wouldn't tell her that this included her room, at least not until she brought it up. The Doctor had the very distinct feeling that if he brought up how the Tardis had detected an unusual amount of emotional distress in someone who supposedly didn't feel, he wouldn't get any answers about it. Maybe she'd deny or ignore it. Maybe Caligo just didn't know, but he certainly didn't either.

The lieutenant came a little closer to him and pushed his glasses about half way up his nose before stepping around him. "Would it be possible to find something to eat before we run off into danger today," she asked. Caligo paced slowly around the consul, eyeing various buttons and knobs she recalled seeing the Doctor going for when he sent the ship hurdling off through space and time.

Caligo looked perfectly calm despite the Tardis' insistence that something was a little off with the lieutenant. Something was always off with her, he concluded, and could afford to shoo away his curiosity and let her be for now. The Doctor met her at the consul and leaned against it, arms crossed over his chest. "Well you mentioned going to look for Atlantis before," he said and waited for the moment when one of her brows would perk up in his direction, a telltale sign of her internal curiosity.

"Is there such a place? I thought it was little more than a long surviving story."

"Stories come from somewhere don't they? Besides, humans like to make things up to explain what they don't understand. You look through any history textbook and that's what a lot of it is." The Doctor noticed the disinterest in her body language, his companion finding the Tardis controls far more interesting than this. Real life problems when it came to humans… "Anyway, Atlantis is very real and it's true that they lived at the bottom of the ocean on Earth for a time. _But_ they couldn't rightly leave when their ship was damaged and that takeoff was very likely to have violently disrupted the development of life on the planet."

"So you're saying that not only was the lost city of Atlantis not only an alien spaceship that long proceeded the birth of the human race-"

"All life on Earth. Not just humans."

"-But that they remained here for millions of years, undisturbed and suddenly left one day when no one was looking."

"Yeah, pretty much." The Doctor just continued to smile at the skeptical-as-ever lieutenant. He'd have to prove that he was right, as he'd come to expect when she doubted him, but hopefully in time she would trust him a little more readily. "I know I said at the bottom of the ocean but we don't have to swim and they do breathe air on that ship so you'll be fine. I promise." Caligo's look changed only minutely, but it didn't escape his notice that it was more exasperation than doubt.

"Find their craft first Doctor. We will go from there."

The Doctor grinned at her, one hand perched atop a lever she had been looking at earlier and pulled it. The lieutenant was certainly getting used to the old girl's movements, not even grasping the consul to steady herself as the Tardis took off. He still needed to work on the landings a little he knew but nothing was perfect. "August, 1954. Ever heard of the Bermuda Triangle Cal?"

"Suspected to have the ability to sink ships, disrupt navigation equipment and to keep whatever enters its parameter due to an abundance of magnetic metals in the sea floor," she said, casting a glance over at him, "Although that could very well be completely wrong and outdated information."

The Doctor shrugged as he mulled over the theory as he opened the door to reveal a spacious hall teeming with humanoid looking creatures going about their day. No one seemed any wiser of the blue box that had suddenly appeared in the middle of their craft deep beneath the sea.

Caligo noticed this as well. "Are you often ignored when you make such blatant appearances like this," she asked, eyeing one of the 'Atlantians' that passed by in rather close proximity to them.

The overall tone of what appeared to be a female's skin resembled a pale flesh tone tinged with red and brown pigments in various places, most prominent on the shoulders, hands, face and back. Everyone seemed to sport the same general placement of these pigments, but the pigments themselves differed greatly in color on some individuals. Her bare feet made soft squishing sounds as she walked, reminding the lieutenant of what it was like to have wet socks stuck to one's feet and the appendages themselves looked flatter and wider than a human foot with more prominent bones and webbing between the digits. Most of the Atlantians never seemed to blink and their eyes never seemed irritated by this either.

It was then that Caligo realized how humid the air felt and a sort of grunginess collected on her exposed skin, as if she were standing by the breaking waves of an ocean. "I suppose I wasn't prepared to find them to be so humanoid and yet resemble aquatic life," she murmured.

"What were you expecting?"

"I'm not sure. I expected that they could be anything, not necessarily humanoid."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Keeping an open mind are we? Glad to hear it. Wait until you see what else they've got on this ship. Their technology is amazing! You'll never look at the ocean the same way again."

As the Doctor led the way – it was hard not to, seeing as his height made it easy for him to stride ahead of her without even realizing – Caligo started to think of when it was she'd seen the ocean last. It had been before she was decommissioned from active duty, certainly. There was also a very good chance that it hadn't been the Earth's ocean she'd seen. Wilhelm had been there. The man, not the machine. Must have been more than seven years ago. The more she thought about it, the more she ignored the Doctor's run away history lesson and the more the details started to come back to her.

It must have been at least eleven years ago that it happened. Caligo recalled that she and Wilhelm had been dispatched to answer a distress call from a freighter ship whose main engines had been badly damaged. It was nothing strange at first, just various forms of aquatic life being transported back to Earth for research. That was until they found out that the engines had failed due to extreme water damage, something one doesn't normally account for in space. That discovery led to the realization that along with the aquatic creatures, a sentient aquatic entity had unknowingly been brought aboard the ship as well and had broken free from its containment. There were a lot of little details that had come back to her during their walk but the most defining one was also one that stirred something deep within her.

 _A massive wall of water towered above the Draugr, surging in place as the captured creatures swam about as if the strangeness of the situation didn't disturb them in the least. It probably didn't if they spent their entire existence living in said ocean. Neither Draugr dared to move but slowly, Caligo felt a pressure around her waist and shoulders before the wall of water engulfed her._

"Cal," the Doctor shouted as she all but collapsed. He was lucky he was quick, just barely able to keep her from crashing to the ground. The lieutenant's entire body was tense right down to her fingers that dug into the sleeve of his trench coat, eyes wide open and pupils dilated as they fixated on the large, glass like wall that separated the crew and them from the depths of the ocean. Fear. It was plain as day in her eyes even if she would never admit it – Caligo was afraid, no, terrified of the ocean. The Doctor could feel her pulse racing dramatically as he craned her head to look away from the dark depths and she shut her eyes tight. "Cal, it's alright. You're not in the water, not even close to it. You're just fine, on a nice, dry ship. Just breathe, okay? Can you do that for me?"

The lieutenant's body was starting to go limp in his arms and the Doctor feared that breathing was exactly what she wasn't doing at this moment. Anxiety and fear did that to humans, made them forget completely how to perform basic bodily functions like breathing. "Just breathe, Cal," he almost yelled, his own heart rate picking up a little when the death grip on his coat lightened and she suddenly inhaled loudly. The Doctor sighed in relief as her chest began to heave – albeit a bit violently – and Caligo was now forcing large lungful's of air into her body again. He did a quick once over, noting there wasn't any sort of external injury on her that he could see, no water on her skin save for a sheen of sweat on her face and she still hadn't opened her eyes. Caligo's breathing slowed dramatically, shoulders sagging and hands losing their grip on him and sliding to the floor. She had fainted.

 _I told her we'd be going to the sunken ship in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle which she seemed to have understood was in the ocean,_ he thought almost irritably to himself. _Why didn't she tell me she was afraid of water?_ Shame? Fear? All those things would've made sense if she could feel those things and he'd have been able to put two and two together if he could just figure out what she was feeling, but no! "I'll bet that damn inhibitor knocked her out too on top of this," he muttered, cross as ever.

"Sir?" An 'Atlantian', one of many onlookers stood over the pair, what was most likely his brownish green brow furrowed with worry. "If medical attention is what you seek, we may be of some assistance. Our knowledge of human physiology isn't the greatest but it may be of some help to you."

"That'd be fantastic to be honest," he sighed and proceeded to lift Caligo up as best he could. There wasn't much helping the way her left arm dangled haphazardly, but the other male was nice enough to help support the hefty appendage on their way to the ship's med bay. "I'm the Doctor by the way. Sorry to kind of just pop in like this. Wasn't expecting my companion here to faint all of a sudden."

"Tilius, Doctor, and that is quite alright. Humans are always fascinating creatures to examine when we have the chance, seeing that their occurrence in such depths is rare."

Tilius brought them to a very sterile looking room with walls tinted in a sort of bluish green color and soft lighting. There were plenty of open beds but no medical equipment that the Doctor was familiar with. The warm temperature of the room and humidity were hard to ignore but he supposed this was what optimal conditions were for their species.

"Rest her anywhere you choose, Doctor. I'll go and fetch our physician."

He wondered for a moment if Tilius thought he was also human, but was even more curious to know how they knew a human when they saw one. Having been here before the human race was born and relatively certain that humans hadn't yet explored the depths of their ocean as far down as this just yet made him more than a little curious. While he really wanted to go poking around this ship, he couldn't without knowing with some degree of certainty that his companion needed little more than some rest. _Rest is good for humans. Knowing the lieutenant, I'd wager five quid that's not something she's good at doing._

Tilius returned a short while with a similar looking individual by his side. One of the notable differences though was that this Atlantian had brighter greens on his skin and was just a little less…hydrodynamic in terms of body shape. The greener male's eyes widened at seeing what probably looked like two humans in his otherwise empty med bay and immediately strode over to them.

"I hadn't realized I was this well off! Two humans now? What a rare occasion indeed," he cried in obvious excitement. The physician paused by the bedside to get a better look at the unconscious lieutenant, daring to briefly place a finger against her unprotected cheek. "Interesting…"

The Doctor cleared his throat loudly and fixed the Atlantian with an expectant look. If humans weren't such a novelty to the species he'd have thought the physician's reaction to the sight of them more than a little strange and perhaps odd. "My friend here seems to have fainted," he started, trying to guide him back in the right direction with as little snark as possible.

"Yes, excuse me. It's been a long while since I had the opportunity to see a human at such a close proximity. Not to worry, she's in good hands!" The physician turned to him, curiosity in his eyes. "Would you happen to be suffering any sort of maladies yourself?"

Blimey, that look of his! It was in fact curiosity, but the kind that the Doctor often found led to trouble. "No, no. Not me. Not from around Earth you know." That alone seemed to make the physician lose interest and he directed his efforts back to Caligo, something he wasn't sure if it made him feel relieved or just a little bit wary. "Do you think it's anything serious," he asked, steering things back to Caligo.

"It doesn't seem to be the case," the physician murmured before producing what looked to be a clear gemstone the size of a human child's fist mounted on a silver frame. Before the Doctor could object, the device was mounted on Caligo's chest just above the collar of her vV-neck blouse with what looked like an unnecessary amount of force. "That was a lot harder than it usually is… Not to worry though! The prongs just barely pierce the skin, won't be a problem so long as she doesn't get up and go for a swim anytime soon. By the way, doctor Durellis. Ship's head physician and local expert on _Homo sapiens_."

Durellis sounded quite proud of that last part. The Doctor himself was quite interested to know exactly what Durellis thought he knew about humans, seeing that he lived on the bottom of the ocean so far away from them. More of his concern stayed with the strange device now changing colors on Caligo's sternum. "Nice to meet you. I'm the Doctor. So what exactly is this little doohickey for?"

Durellis's eye twitched just a little but he gave the Doctor a friendly enough smile, fake as it was. "This device is made of psionic crystal. Very responsive to the human telepathic field. It responds very honestly to their brain and nerve activity. See, one of the things you must understand about the human race is that they are prideful creatures and see some sort of accomplishment in hiding their feelings, which can be troublesome if one is trying to treat them and they insist on enduring vast amounts of pain for no purpose whatsoever."

The Doctor nodded in response, feigning fascination with what Durellis seemed to have thought was some sort of ancient human secret. Although he did notice that he was right about that. Humans often tended to endure an awful lot of ridiculous things to prove how tough they were compared to others. The real weight of Durellis's words hit him less than a second later though. If this device could in fact tap into a human's telepathic field this could possibly tell him exactly what his companion was feeling, even if she couldn't feel it herself. Along with the burning curiosity however, was a sense of intrusion. The lieutenant's feelings were her own private matters. Using a device to reveal exactly what they were made it feel as if he were overstepping his boundaries…

Durellis tapped the psionic crystal with a webbed finger, frowning. "Odd," he murmured, more to himself than the other occupants of the room, "It usually doesn't take this long to settle on a specific color."

Indeed, waves of reds and greens and blacks were clashing almost violently with one another. If this device were responding to her state of mind and the colors corresponded to an emotion similar to a mood ring – that was actually effective – then she was definitely feeling and feeling a lot.

 _Probably confused if she's got any sense about her at the moment_ , the Doctor thought to himself. As if it might help, he took her hand, the right, human hand and held it in his own. The crystal eventually settled on what looked to be a brownish color that constantly fluctuated in random, violent bursts with its shade. He'd have to look up exactly what that meant later on. After all, why would he bother with trying to color code human emotions like mood rings? The science behind them was horribly inaccurate, if it could be called science in the first place.

"Well at least she seems to be in a stable mindset so to speak," Durellis muttered. He seemed fascinated with the chosen color of the gem. "Maybe she's having what they call night terrors. But regardless, I think all she needs is a sound rest. Feel free to leave her be in my care, erm, Doctor~ She'll be right as rain as they say. Humans do that often too you know. They completely exhaust themselves for no particular purpose. It's as if evolving made them lose their basic instincts to keep themselves in good health! Counterproductive, don't you think? Hah!"

The Doctor nearly winced at the volume at which the Atlantian had laughed but his annoyance with the individual was soon forgotten when he detected the faintest sound of little whirring motors. Caligo's chest visibly rose as she took a deep breath and slowly, her eyes fluttered open. He could feel the tension in her body rise as her eyes darted around the room and the twitch of her left eye as Durellis held her down by the shoulders.

"Easy now young lady. It seems you had an episode of some sort. You shouldn't be getting up just yet."

Caligo made a sound, whether it was one of agreement or annoyance was unclear, but she wasted no time in brushing him off. "Apologies Doctor. I'm not quite sure what came over me. I hope you weren't terribly burdened by it."

 _There it is again_ , he thought grimly. The coldness in her voice meant that the inhibitor was doing or had already done its job but recalling the terror he had seen in her eyes back there he wondered if perhaps, just this once, it wasn't such a bad thing. Caligo would surely be a nervous wreck the entire time they were here. _And yet she walked all the way through the rising tide in Barcelona…_

Caligo sat up again and almost instantly took notice of the strange device sitting center on her chest. "What is this," she stated more than asked. Rather than deferring to the complete stranger on her left, she turned to the Doctor instead. "Why is it changing colors."

Indeed, the color of the crystal was shifting again, a deep shade of red that surged violently, as if attempting to break free of the device. No one in the room needed it to tell that the lieutenant was not at all happy with finding this on her person at the moment but no one knew what sort of temper she had either.

"Just to be sure your vitals are alright and to make sure you're not trying to 'endure the pain' and such," Durellis chuckled a little nervously under Caligo's intense gaze.

"Go with it for a bit, yeah? You feel okay?" The Doctor felt the hand in his twitch slightly as the pressure of his fingers increased just the slightest bit. It was probably pointless to ask, already getting the feeling that she wasn't about to tell him why that happened, but maybe her thoughts and emotions would betray her just a little now with Durellis' device in place. It seemed as if it did, though it still didn't tell him much. The color of the crystal faded to a dark gray, so at least she wasn't angry anymore but she certainly wasn't at ease.

"I believe myself to be in a more stable condition now, yes. I highly doubt that it will happen again but I am sure that Wilhelm is quite unsettled being confined to your ship."

Ah, yes. The uppity, meddlesome drone of hers. To his understanding, Caligo's panic attack was surely detected by her partner drone as well if they were able to transmit data such as vitals essentially via telepathy. The Doctor knew already that if they went back to the ship for him now he in particular would surely catch the ire of the AI and he definitely wasn't too keen on that. Occupied with that though, he almost didn't notice Caligo remove her hand from his and slide herself off the bed.

"Take this off of me," she practically commanded. Durellis was barely taller than her but certainly larger. Damned if that meant she would bend to whatever his whims were about attaching strange devices to unconscious patients.

"Actually, Cal, maybe it's better to leave it on for a bit. As long as it doesn't hurt. Doesn't hurt, right," the Doctor asked, still a bit concerned about the prongs underneath her skin that held the device in place. "Durellis is a physician and if something happens, best he knows straight away don't you think?"

She didn't like the idea. The Doctor probably knew that she didn't like the idea but he had that look on his face. Caligo remembered, she had seen that look on his face when she had come stumbling out of the darkness on the beach in Barcelona. The Doctor was worried for her and as natural as that probably was for any normal individual, it caused a strange stirring sensation in her chest that she quashed with all of her might the moment she felt a familiar thrumming in the base of her skull. "Yes. I suppose you're right Doctor. Its removal can wait until we leave." Caligo pulled her coat over her chest and pulled the zipper as far as it would go. Only a small portion of the crystal was still visible and one would have to blatantly look that much closer to read it. She herself may not have felt or be capable of reacting to her emotions but there was no need for anyone else to know how she felt either. It was more than alright for such things to remain a mystery in her mind.

When she turned to face him again the Doctor couldn't help but notice how she hid the device on her chest. There was just a tinge of disappointment that his companion would feel the need to hide something so natural as her feelings and yet it didn't seem fair for everyone else to know how she felt before she did. It made him feel much less guilty about it being there at least. "Oh! Sorry. You said you were hungry before we got here right?"

"I still am, if that's what you really mean to ask."

Caligo was out the door without a word to Tillius or Durellis. Bit rude in the Doctor's mind but then again he had forgotten that his companion hadn't eaten since after they'd ran out of that diner back at the concert. "Thanks for the help, I guess we'll be back later to give back your thing."

"The first sign that anything is wrong, don't hesitate Doctor. My door is always open~"

Durellis sent him off with a brief wave and the Doctor was out after Caligo in moments. "Oi. Don't wander off. Goodness, do you have any idea how often I've had to tell people that? Don't wander off. That's the sort of thing your mum tells you when you're out at the store with her innit?"

"I suppose it is," is all she says.

Even for Caligo, she was being far less talkative than usual or perhaps he was just talking that much but either way, the balance between them felt off. The Doctor figured that they got a little lucky on finding food though. The ship's residents were more than capable of living off of the nutrients their photosynthetic skin gave them, but some of the crew just wasn't quite adapted to living at this depth. The Doctor spent much of their lunch together talking about how they managed to supplement what they needed by feeding off the creatures in Earth's oceans, though he certainly tried to avoid outright mentioning the water if he could help it. It was a little harder than he thought it would be at first but he hardly ever backed down from a challenge. "Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I tried to **not** accept a challenge but the point is that I can now make a pretty decent tuna maki."

Caligo's skepticism was clear and she put down the last piece of sliced fish on her plate as if the story had drastically reduced her appetite. "I don't believe I pegged you for someone who knew how to even properly hold a knife. But I suppose it makes more sense if I were to think of it as you dissecting the fish instead."

"Well we can stop by the market when we get back to the Tardis and I'll show you!"

"I wouldn't think of eating it."

The Doctor pouted at her. "Now you're just being difficult."

A very faint chuckle escaped her and the Doctor finally smiled since they'd left the infirmary. It wasn't unusual for the pair to fall into silence but it was certainly rare that it happened, mostly in part for the fact that the Doctor was quite the talker and Caligo hardly had much to say unless it was in response to him but she knew right away that this silence was different. It was uneasy still and tense and she knew why. "I remembered something," was how she started off.

"Sorry?" The Doctor was confused, or at least he looked it. He wanted to believe that she was talking about what had happened earlier. That she was sharing with him just like that day they spent on the remnants of an Earth-like planet camping under an alien sky. He wanted to know and he wanted to ask but just this once, he needed to keep that overactive gob of his shut long enough for her to tell him on her own terms. The Doctor wasn't so think that he hadn't known that she didn't like to share things about herself after the way he reacted after visiting Pillar…

Caligo glanced up at him thoughtfully and she already knew that it was because in the very back of her mind she had already made it a reinforced habit to choose her words carefully when she spoke to the Doctor. There were a lot of things that she could tell him, she knew, that were both truthful and would be distasteful for him to hear. If she could, she would certainly try not to hurt him, even if it was with something as simple as words. "It was a very long time ago. One of the first distress calls I'd ever had to respond to with Wilhelm. A transport ship had been stranded on its course back to Earth in a less than hospitable part of space so we were sent out to investigate. The ship was supposed to be transporting aquatic specimens back to a lab for study when the engines completely failed… They were completely drenched in water. We found out very quickly that the fluid they used to fill the specimen tanks was part of a living ocean."

The Doctor let out a low hum, quickly putting two and two together. "I'd imagine it wasn't happy about its predicament… Came after you two, didn't it?"

Caligo nodded. "I suppose I don't quite have an accurate account of what happened once we made the discovery. According to Wilhelm, I had nearly drowned. I didn't realize what had happened until after he told me he had to resuscitate me."

"What about in Barcelona? You ran through an ocean on a foreign planet in the dark." Something he still actually felt a little bad for.

"I was focusing on something far more important at the time," she murmured.

She probably didn't know it, but the small portion of the psionic crystal that was still poking out of her jacket had been constantly shifting in its colors for the past couple of hours. The Doctor only had short glances but he caught the light blue hue it took on in contrast to the dark leather of her jacket and he couldn't help a grin. "I'll take that as a compliment then. Real accomplishment if I can get you to pay attention to me for any span of time eh?" Caligo hummed quietly as the two got up to move on to the next great thing. "You probably want to take a better look at their ship and all the astounding things it can do I bet."

"Yes, I believe I would…"

The Doctor nearly walked off without her when he noticed that he couldn't hear the clunky steps of her boots behind him. Just a little way back, Caligo had a hand against a wall, supporting herself and looked rather faint. "Cal? What's wrong," he asked, immediately ready to catch her again if something were to go amiss. "Talk to me."

Caligo swiped her hand over her face after a moment, limbs heavy and a light sheen of sweat forming across her forehead. "I'm sorry… I don't know why but I feel as though I may be sick," she muttered. The air in the room felt smothering. Breathing was quickly becoming a chore and her eyes refused to obey any command to stay open. _It most likely won't be long before I pass out_ , she thought, though she couldn't find a cause for it. Regardless, as much as she didn't want to admit it… "I believe I should return to doctor Durellis."

The Doctor didn't argue but he did find it a little odd that Durellis was almost waiting for them at the door as if it were sheer coincidence. He had a bed ready for her, exactly as promised and Caligo was out cold not minutes after they'd gotten her situated.

"As I said before Doctor, your friend is in good hands. If you feel a need for companionship, I'm sure Tilius would be more than happy to accompany you~"

"While that's awfully kind of you, I'd like to make sure my friend's okay." He pulled back the lapel of her jacket just enough to see that the crystal was a soft blue color as it had been earlier at lunch. He could only guess that she had been at least content at the time and was resting easy now. Before they arrived the Tardis had detected dangerously high levels of anxiety and stress while she was supposedly asleep in her room. _Bad dreams_ , he thought somberly. It happened to all humans. _But what good does that do for someone who only pretends to be human?_

The Doctor, preoccupied with his worry as to the cause of his companion's stress, didn't catch the way Durellis observed him. More specifically, his interaction with the female human now in his care. He was hovering with annoying closeness. How was he supposed to get anything done with a watchdog alien? He didn't have to tell Tilius. He already knew. "Doctor, I think it'd be best if you got some rest yourself. You're more than welcomed to take up a bed here for the time being. Rare is it that we find ourselves at capacity here in sick bay." Durellis wasn't unaccustomed to this, masking himself in such a way. There was a human saying that old habits were hard to break, but it was of little concern when one never attempted to break them in the first place and he knew that he had to watch out for the particularly intelligent individuals. There were always a few in the mix, especially in groups. But Durellis supposed that he'd been lucky when the Doctor agreed because he didn't look tired in the least. Still, all creatures had to sleep sometime…


	9. Chapter 9

WHOOPS I might be a little late on this one but it's finals week and all these appointments...Augh. Just one of those weeks but better late than never right? Wild dreams lately too. Once I get this one down maybe I'll post it. It was a Doctor Who dream! :D

Anyway, there's most likely going to be a delay in some future chapters. At least one. I wrote it and couldn't get someone to beta it for me thanks to Mystic Mistake Messenger and Assmin dammit. (Jaehee is my favorite; Jumin you need to be nicer to her OK? q v q) I'm still not happy with the way I wrote it though so once my last final is done I plan on working on that and getting it straightened out. Sometimes I feel like this story moves too quickly but that I put in so many details I'll end up drawing it out so long with things no one cares about that no one will want to read it anymore? But then it feels like it's going too fast. Well, a problem for later I suppose. Enjoy, and good luck to everyone with finals! I'M CHEERING FOR YOU. YOU CAN DO IT. (ovo)b

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The sun shone down brightly, prevalent despite the bitter cold of the air. It lit up the off white walls of a quaint bedroom and eventually caused the figure cozied up on the king sized bed to rouse from her slumber. Caligo's first thought that morning was that Blackridge was far from being aptly named. It was her mistake for not putting up the curtains like she should've when they'd first moved here. Even then, she wouldn't have bothered trying to go back to sleep and she certainly wouldn't bother now that the sun was most certainly up. There was work to be done after all, and there were only so many hours in the day.

The moment Caligo sat up something almost immediately felt…strange. There was just the slightest nagging feeling that something was amiss but the moment she took the time to thoroughly inspect her person, everything appeared to be in place. Shirt, shorts, sheets and a gold band on her finger. The ring was smooth and cool to the touch, leaving just the slightest hint of a mark on her skin from the somewhat inappropriate size. "I ought to have that fixed," she murmured, mostly to herself until she heard the creak of the bedroom door. In the blink of an eye a gun was drawn from a hidden compartment of the nightstand and aimed right between the eyes of… "Wilhelm," she sighed, lowering her weapon.

"Clearly you're awake now," he quipped before deeming it, more or less, safe to enter the same room as her.

Caligo scowled. "I almost shot you."

"I certainly took notice of that."

Caligo couldn't help taking notice of his voice, more specifically the accent. It sounded European from how it had been described to her once before. German, to be precise, although very watered down and he rolled his 'R's like a Scotsman. She'd always wondered where and how he had managed to pick that up.

Wilhelm watched her with a look. It was just that. A look with nothing more to it. "I suppose this means you're still waking up too."

"Why?"

"Have you not realized how cold it is?"

She hadn't. Or rather, it wasn't something that was at the front of her mind at the moment. Caligo had only begun to notice the chill in the air and the fresh snowfall outside the bedroom's window when he had mentioned it. A gloved hand held her dark leather aviator jacket in front of her face and she took it without hesitation. Get dressed or get hypothermia. "It's honestly rather ridiculous to need to wear so many layers to stay warm **indoors** ," she muttered.

"Best we get to work fixing the insulation then." Wilhelm gave her a smug looking smile before leaving Caligo to properly dress herself. He only stopped long enough to call back, "And don't forget to eat breakfast. It's already been made and it'd be a shame to waste all that food and hard work."

"You're being difficult," she yelled back but she knew that he wasn't even bothering to listen to her now. _He's always been that way_ , she thought, _simply never lets up on trivial things like eating proper meals._ But she knew that her health was imperative to her ability to function as needed and that she didn't always pay the greatest attention to it. Some things never did change and one of those things was that Wilhelm was the one who made sure that she took care of herself. _I don't recall him being much of a cook, however._ Not that it mattered so long as it was edible and not poisoned. "I suppose the insulation will have to wait until after I eat, however. He'll never let me work in peace otherwise."

Caligo was definitely not surprised to find that Wilhelm was at the table, her breakfast laid out for her beside him, and fiddling with one of his old instruments. A violin. "You haven't touched that for quite some time."

"No. No I haven't," he sighed. He had been trying to play a song. Wilhelm looked at the pine wood instrument with a hint of fondness in his bright blue eyes. "It doesn't sound quite right for some reason so I thought I might be able to fix it. Music would be a nice change to the atmosphere, don't you think?"

"We have records. It's a shame that most of them are beyond repair though." A few bites of her eggs distracted her for a moment but she had still caught the look on Wilhelm's face. He was doing this more often now, drifting off in his own thoughts. He needed to be more focused than this. More careful. "Wilhelm-" Caligo was promptly cut off by the sound of a wailing alarm and the two instantly jumped to their feet.

A digital display popped up from a small device on Wilhelm's right arm and he hit a button. "The alarm was triggered on level two in the main generator room," he announced just before hitting a button. "The building has been locked down."

"Good. I don't want them getting out before I figure out how they got in." Caligo left her pistol on the table and opted for something a little less likely to cause the generator to explode in the off chance she accidentally damaged it during this confrontation. A wooden baseball bat seemed to be the best choice and with next to no hesitation, she grabbed it and made her way down to the generator room.

The Doctor was confused. Beyond confused. He woke up in the Tardis – in his own room oddly enough – and noticeably alone. That couldn't have been right. Not right at all. So he grabbed some clothes to change into and ran out the doors the moment he was decent. The room he'd entered was dark save for a spiraling red light in the room and accompanied by a familiar foghorn alarm. "Blackridge." The word left his mouth before he could think about it but he more or less already knew where he was and without hesitation, he soniced the alarm into silence. The only question was how had he gotten here? He certainly didn't remember getting back into the Tardis and flying back here… He wouldn't dream of doing so without the lieutenant either, much as he didn't like the idea of her being in this place.

"Authorized personnel only," he heard a steely voice say from the shadows behind him and what felt like a slab of wood was barred across his throat, breath tickling the hairs on the back of his neck. "Cal, wait," he yelled hurriedly, bending backwards to keep her from putting any more pressure on his Adam's apple. She might not have been able to strangle him but that didn't mean she hadn't left some semblance of a mark on him from the first go around.

The weight of the bat was gone in an instant and Caligo took a step or two back to give him some space. "Doctor," she said, catching a little more surprise in her own voice than usual at such an incident. "What are you doing here?"

"Might be asking you the same question! Goodness. Talk about a welcome."

"I live here," she deadpanned as if he were stupid for asking. Well, she certainly thought it was a ludicrous question to ask, knowing that he knew where he'd landed. Again. "You won't be shot by simply coming in the front door you know." Her eye twitched at the thought of all the repairs she would have to make to the generator **again**. "The insulation will have to wait," she muttered, very clearly annoyed.

"Lieutenant," a familiar voice emanated from the ear piece tucked away beneath her hair, "The alarm was shut off from the trigger point. Security drones en route."

The Doctor's keen hearing picked up the faintest trace of the voice and noted that it was rather familiar. "Is that Wilhelm," he asked, quite confused and yet a little excited at the same time. He couldn't help leaning in a bit closer to Caligo's ear and talking a tad louder than usual. "'Ello Wil! It's the Doctor~ You remember me?"

Caligo's hand put light pressure on his chest, pushing him gently but firmly away to a more respectable distance before responding to her partner. "I'm fine. Send repair drones to my current location and I'll meet you upstairs once I've taken care of the security breech." There was a noise on the other end of the com line that sounded like a string of curse words, at least a sign that Wilhelm had grudgingly acknowledged her. His behavior toward the Doctor was always the same.

The Doctor waited until he was sure Caligo was done with whatever she had to say to her partner when he noticed it. Her type of dress was nothing new honestly but it was her face that made him certain that something was wrong. On Caligo's usually neutral features was a small, almost nostalgic looking smile. As if shenanigans like these were regular occurrences in her daily routine and that maybe, just maybe, she held a certain fondness for them. Fondness. That's what it was. He had seen perhaps contentment reflected in her dark obsidian eyes before but this fondness for chaos was so blatant, so unlike her.

"Doctor, you should come with me and be quick about it. Wilhelm seems to have sent the security drones despite my reporting in." Caligo was already heading for the lift to the observatory floor.

The questions could wait. At least until they got to the lift but it was certainly a chore to contain his curiosity. "So," he started once the lift doors had closed and turned to face her, "how do you figure you got back here exactly?"

"You." It was all she said at first but casting a glance in his direction told her that it clearly wasn't enough of an explanation. "I assumed my increasingly poor condition when we were on the Atlantian ship caused you to bring me back here."

"Now why would I just up and leave you here and sneak back off to my ship?"

"For the simple fact that you don't like this place." She was right. She knew she was right and she knew that he knew it too. On a second thought though, maybe he would think it an insult to say that she believed he would simply leave her in a given place, granted that Blackridge was **her** home, knowing that she might be ill for one reason or another. Caligo had never insinuated that he had ever left the premise but it was very likely that he would believe that she did. "Wilhelm has taken good care of me. There was no need to worry."

"Yeah but that's not what I mean." His question train was interrupted when the lift reached the observatory floor and a tall man with short, choppy blonde hair, striking green eyes that glared at the Doctor from behind half-moon glasses and a particularly annoyed look on his face greeted them at the entrance point. He was tall. Almost as tall as him it seemed with a swimmer's build it seemed and similar attire to the lieutenant, although his shirt was black rather than olive green and he sported a blazer in a familiar steel blue color. The second the man grumbled out the lieutenant's name the Doctor's eyes lit up in recognition and disbelief and he didn't hold back when examining him. "Couldn't be," he mumbled in shock.

"Yes, Doctor, I'm Wilhelm and I would greatly appreciate if you stayed out of my personal space," the blonde huffed and instantly caught a hard frown from his partner. "You make the strangest of acquaintances."

"I didn't tell him to come in through the generator room."

"He shouldn't be here in the first place."

The two suddenly locked eyes, both sporting a slight frown, almost in a sort of glaring contest. The Doctor wasn't in the middle of it all but he could feel the air between them was electric. It was silent for a minute or two. Neither of them showed the slightest sign of blinking and despite his presence but when the two finally broke eye contact it seemed clear that Caligo was the winner of whatever had just occurred.

Wilhelm leaned away and set his gaze elsewhere the moment they broke apart and the intensity of the moment was gone. "Sorry," was all he had said.

"There is no need," Caligo answered, voice soft and with a touch of… something in it.

The blonde, with his hands laced behind his back, made his way back to the kitchen without so much as a glance at either Caligo or the Doctor. "Breakfast, lieutenant."

Caligo followed in silence though there was nothing terrible or foreboding about it and left the Doctor in the observatory room, utterly confused. He began to pick at every detail of what was probably the last ten minutes that had gone by, convinced that something was amiss. He may have only been to Blackridge perhaps a total of two or three times but he knew that, at the very least, this was not how they had left it.

To start, the room was much brighter and filled with an array of things that he hadn't seen there before. At the far corner of the room was a glass board with a diagram for a shield to match a person's left arm, nearly every inch of it filled with scribbled notes and equations and measurements in retina searing neon green. A large red leather loveseat sat nearest the fully functioning telescope about five meters away complete with a small table and choose-your-own-adventure books of all sorts piled atop with papers poking out from the bindings haphazardly. Caligo's tool belt hung on a hook next to the counter she had placed her helmet on, the same one she wore when they first descended into Pillar. Other miscellaneous things were a box full of old and irreparably worn records beneath an old brass gramophone, pictures hanging on the walls and a pair of half-moon glasses laying forgotten and rusted atop some drone model sketches. The left side lens was cracked, the frame bent and rusted and covered with a layer of grime and dust as if it hadn't been touched in years. Why did this stick out to the Doctor? Simply for the fact that it matched the pair that Wilhelm currently wore down to a tee.

Of course, he couldn't expect Wilhelm to have just one pair of glasses. That, and if his memory served…

The Doctor peered into the kitchen area while the two were finishing up the dishes. Wilhelm was washing which meant Caligo would be wiping and sure enough, that was what they were up to. A rogue bit of soap splashed up onto Wilhelm's face just near his eye and as if this happened often, Caligo reached up with her towel to clean it off. The Doctor could tell just in her movements alone that the lieutenant held a great fondness for her superior. Probably more than she let on. _But Wilhelm is dead which means he shouldn't be here in Blackridge with Cal and we shouldn't be here either. We should be…_ It was almost as if his train of thought gave out there. He couldn't find the words which was odd for someone who was constantly pulling them out of thin air on a regular basis. But he knew the important part; whatever this was, it wasn't real.

Caligo's aviator jacket had conveniently disappeared for the sake of saving it from the dishes and gave him the first opportunity he had since their camping excursion to catch a glimpse of her arm, the left to be precise. Soft looking pale skin from bicep down was what it looked to be made of and he could've been imagining it, but he swore he saw a gold band 'round her left ring finger. One practically identical to the ring Wilhelm wore.

The answer hit the Doctor like a wakeup slap. Well, the answer to the question of what exactly was so terribly wrong here. Her arm, her prototypes, **Wilhelm.** All of it. Everything here was wrong and Caligo wasn't even aware of it, being strung along on a fantasy. He tried like hell to remember what had happened in the last place they'd been. Atlantis. His companion had practically passed out from some unknown cause and he'd brought her back to the ship's med bay thinking that their doctor- His train of thought stopped short when he came to the doctor aboard the ship, Durellis. Something had struck him as off the moment he set eyes on Caligo, hearing that she was human and now he was sure that there was a good reason as to why he didn't like him. When he had brought Caligo back to the med bay Durellis had offered him a bed and despite not being tired, he took it if only to stay close and keep an eye on his companion. _Only other question then is how did Durellis get me into this mess and how do I get us out of it?_ Dreams were powerful things after all and sometimes you just couldn't be sure that you were in one.

Which means he'd have to give them both a mean wakeup call. Watching the pair finish up the dishes however, the Doctor couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for having to do so. Even in dreams it seemed that Caligo kept her emotions in check but more often than not it was the little things such as a slight quirk of the corner of her lips or a casual snarky remark that gave her away. If she were aware of the feeling, she might've said she liked it here because the truth of the matter was that Wilhelm was dead and never had the chance to see the home she had made for herself.

"Is something bothering you Doctor?" Caligo strode up to him, drying her hands on a towel before discarding it into a bin to wash at a later date and waited for an answer. There was always something on his mind she figured. The only thing she couldn't figure was what that thing was. Not when he had that far off look in his eyes as if he were a million miles from here. _He never did like Blackridge so I suppose the reaction is to be expected…_ But when the Doctor had finally given her his full attention it was more than clear that something was bothering him. At the very least he was still mulling things over.

"You said you had to do something with the insulation? Why don't we get on that then, eh? Wouldn't do to have you go on being a snowwoman." He grinned at her as he usually did but he already knew – somehow – that she knew that the problem didn't have anything to do with the insulation. It was no surprise to him to see Wilhelm hovering so close to Caligo, looking irritated with the Doctor as ever, and even place a hand at her hip.

"I don't suppose it'll do any good to argue with you about this so I'll start another pot of coffee and keep an eye on things from here," Wilhelm said, albeit grudgingly. There was an obvious fondness in his eyes when he noticed the corners of the lieutenant's lips quirk up just a little and placed a chaste kiss on her head before letting her go off to do as she pleased.

The Doctor did his damn best to be patient as Caligo led him back to the observatory room to begin working on the building's insulation, but time was ticking by even as they went about doing pointless dream tasks. He was just a tad bit irritated with all that noise Wilhelm was making in the kitchen, a jumble of sounds more than music if that's what he was going for. What made him all the more impatient was that he couldn't seem to wake himself up from this dream and he was far less attached to it than his companion. "Cal, there's something important you ought to know," he started, lowering his voice just a tad, "and I know you're not going to like it but you have to listen to me."

"I hope you aren't about to tell me how to do my job," she immediately responded in a dull droll. Caligo set to work on the insulation regardless, yet still making sure to pay attention to what the Doctor had to say. At the very back of her mind was that nagging feeling telling her that this wasn't one of those times she could focus exclusively on her work and that what he had to say was of extreme importance. She didn't like it.

"None of this is right. It's not supposed to be like this, You, your partner, the domesticness. None of it is real."

"If that is the case then what is it?"

"It's a dream. Just an illusion created by something tapping into your memories. Feeding off your emotions to create this perfect – well maybe not perfect, but ideal reality. To keep you calm. To keep you **asleep**."

"I don't see what good my sleeping would do except to make it easier to kill me." Caligo glanced back at the Doctor to see that he was definitely not amused by the answer. That was fine. There wasn't meant to be any humor in the truth. "Typically I'm most useful if alive and functioning but according to what you're saying that isn't the case. How do you suppose we became trapped in this state?"

The Doctor pursed his lips a little, thinking. "Had to be that psionic crystal device. At least for what happened to you. But how did Durellis get to me? Did he get to me at all?" He heard her hum as if the thought that someone could get the jump on him was amusing on some level and he had to admit that sometimes, on that very, **extremely** rare occasion, someone caught him off guard.

Picking through the selection of her tool belt while he mulled the idea over, Caligo could feel the nagging becoming stronger. It was far harder to ignore the more the Doctor talked about it and the sinking feeling in her gut that he was right about it tempted her to silence him… "But if what you're saying is true," she started. Caligo could practically feel the intensity of his gaze, silently insisting to her that he was in fact correct about their predicament. "Then to escape it means you must shatter the illusion holding both of us, correct?"

"'Course. That's the only way to do it." That was the moment his superior Time Lord brain recognized that he'd been found out. That she knew exactly what was going on. That he would have to destroy her dream of being with Wilhelm in order for them to survive. That **the Doctor** was **threatening** her chance at having her partner back and for some reason she was still bothering to try to fix an imaginary insulation problem!

"Doctor," a cool and familiarly annoying voice called from behind the Time Lord, "I wouldn't advise doing anything that would harm the lieutenant." Wilhelm's expression was as cold as his voice as he regarded the Doctor and definitely no sign of any sort of friendly intent. "Lieutenant, you'd do well to trust him less than you already do."

That made Caligo stop what she was doing at long last and sigh softly. "I suppose I should know better than to think that I've settled any sort of argument with you. Your character is too true to his own."

"Especially when it concerns you. I am well aware of his data on that lieutenant."

"I know."

The Doctor suddenly felt like he was third wheeling again and it was definitely getting to him a bit. They definitely didn't have time for this. "Cal, I'm sorry. I really am, but we need to go before something happens to us in the real world." He tried to be gentle but couldn't help stressing the gravity of their situation.

"Yes, I understand," she said, posture going rigid again. "I will handle things from here Doctor."

He frowned, unsure of what that meant. "Handle? What's there to handle?"

"I'm sorry, but I believe this may hurt a little. Wilhelm."

Caligo once again appeared void of emotion and a slight surge of panic ran through the Doctor as her partner grabbed hold of him by the shoulders. His grip was vice like, much like what those claws on his robotic body might imply and there was no gentleness when he spun the Time Lord around to face him properly. Wilehlm's eyes were cold. Colder than they had been a minute ago and he just barely heard Caligo mutter something about "it being stuck pretty tight" before a sharp pain erupted on four very precise spots on his upper back like she'd just wound up and punched him hard as she could.

He couldn't help crying out at the sheer amount of pain that had hit him all at once and the Doctor swore he heard someone else yelp as well. His upper back was unbelievably tender, in four different spots to be precise, but he could moan and groan all he wanted about that later. Willing the room to stop, the Doctor came to the quick conclusion that this was not the med bay aboard the Atlantian ship and that the individual who had yelped had been Tilius. The male looked absolutely petrified, backed up against the wall of the small compartment like area they seemed to be in and stared at the Doctor in shock and terror.

"H-How did you break it…?"

"Break what?" The Doctor followed his line of sight to just behind him where one of Durellis' psionic devices lay on the ground, the crystal shattered and the four prong attachments bent with just a smattering of blood and a small piece of his suit coat stuck to them. _That goes and explains a lot of things_ , he thought to himself. _Probably also explains why Cal said it was going to hurt._ His eyes turned back on Tilius who was just about to make a break for the door when the Doctor beat him to it by locking him out of the controls with his sonic. If he were being honest he was disappointed to find Tilius involved in all of this. He'd seemed to be the least suspicious of the two they'd formally met. "Where is she," he asked, his voice low.

Tilius was still frantically attempting to get the controls to work, in vain he realized a moment later, and guilt started to outweigh the fear in his eyes. "I'm sorry Doctor," he murmured, voice shuddering, "But I don't have any other choice." From a satchel tied to his waist, he produced a sharp looking dagger most likely made from animal bone and brandished it with begrudging determination.

"You always have a choice. You don't have to do this Tilius. No one has to get hurt." He tried to keep calm and talk some sense into him. It was blatantly obvious that he didn't want to cause any sort of trouble but something had him scared. "I can help you. Whatever's going on here, whether it's the whole crew or Durellis, I promise you you'll be safe."

"You can't guarantee even the safety of the human you brought here Doctor. You can't guarantee mine or anyone else's. Durellis might not look terribly frightening but he is a smart man nonetheless. He's clever and wickedly so."

The Doctor couldn't help but scoff. "You think he's clever? That's funny because he tried to use mind control on a Time Lord." Though the credit for getting him out of that dream state mess was Caligo's doing, he had to convince Tilius somehow that he was worth keeping alive before he decided to do something stupid. "I can tell you right now whatever leverage he's got on you I can fix that in a heartbeat."

Tilius' grim determination seemed to let up a little. It was true, as far as he knew, the Doctor had been able to break free of Durellis' psionic control device which was something he had deemed impossible so maybe, just maybe, he could help him… "If I don't do this then Amelia will… Oh, but if she could see what I've become now," he cried out and thrust the blade into the wall. It barely made a scratch against the metal and cracked in half. "I was charged with getting rid of you since you were interfering with Durellis' plans to put your friend into stasis. He promised me that I could have Amelia back if she were to be replaced with another human female of good quality. If he finds that you have not been dealt with as instructed, he may simply take her away as well as your friend."

"Well that's not gonna happen. Come on then," he said, sonicing the controls and opening the door leading back to the main hull of the ship, "Timing is everything when you're on a rescue mission." It would probably still be a good idea to keep an eye on Tilius however. Now that the Doctor knew Durellis was cleverer than he let on, the other Atlantian was likely to be caught in the midst of things and if he decided to switch sides again… The Doctor frowned slightly and did his best to put that possibility to the back of his mind for now. He might've done terrible things but at least his heart had been in the right place and that counted for something.

Tilius led the Doctor to Durellis' private quarters on a separate floor. It was roughly standard fair for the physician but the Atlantian was wary of his colleague. "Be wary, Doctor. Durellis might favor his work on humans but that doesn't mean he's ignorant to the inner workings of other species. The device that was placed on you is indeed one of his own inventions and he has many more that can make your body work against you."

The Doctor doubted Durellis had any clue of what went on in a Time Lord's body, but he couldn't deny that his device had worked on him even if was only partially effective. Whatever the physician's game was, however, he wasn't making it easy on them. Tilius believed something in his quarters had to do with what he'd done with Amelia and Caligo but so far they were coming up empty handed. "You get on pretty well with humans Tilius?"

"Sort of, I suppose… We aren't supposed to intermingle really but, as you can see my will isn't so strong."

"Well if you're gonna be hanging around Earth, they've got an array of spy movies coming up, one of the most popular being the James Bond series. Reckon it's maybe another decade off or so. Second thought says maybe it's not really gonna be your cup of tea but you never know until you try right?"

"Is there some sort of point you're trying to get at Doctor," Tilius asked with an air of caution and a hint of frustration. He hadn't realized how much the man could talk.

The Doctor ran his fingers along one of the many rows of books on Durellis' shelves, thinking. "Just thought you might look forward to that is all. But one of the things I like," he murmured, fingers finally coming to a stop over a leather bound anthropologic study of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific – funny, considering they were in the North Atlantic Ocean and most likely didn't get out much – and pulled on it, "are the funny trap doors and secret rooms you find all over the place." The door to what was presumably the closet opened and the false backing of the shallow looking compartment slid back to reveal a narrow corridor consisting of at least five stasis pods, three of which were currently functional and most definitely occupied. Two women and one man all in perfect stasis. One stasis pod was the least foggy, Caligo's face calm and peaceful almost as her body hung in a state of suspended animation. The process must've been completed just recently which meant there was more than enough time to reverse it before he had to wait until her body was adjusted to stasis for maybe a month or so before he would have the opportunity to undo it to avoid the potential shock.

Tilius stared at the pod beside her and eventually brought a hand up to wipe away the fog on the pod. The Doctor heard his breath catch as he began to check on the status of the unit and he cried out a moment later. His sob was long, lamenting and heartbroken. "He lied to me!"

The Doctor took a look for himself and all readings on the stasis pod's control panel told him that the woman inside, Amelia, was dead. On the seals of the unit, upon closer inspection, indicated that they had failed and she had essentially starved to death as one might in a coma and left unattended. "Amelia Earhart," he murmured solemnly, "so this is what became of you on your journey around the world."

"Durellis you blighted bastard," Tilius roared at the ceiling, "I'll have your hide for this!"

"You shouldn't get ahead of yourself Tilius," a cold and falsely honeyed voice chided from the doorway. None other than Durellis stood in their path and obviously armed. He grinned at his enraged kinsman. "I'm somewhat sympathetic to you honestly. I did like her. She had a lot of spirit. I wish I'd known that the stasis pod was damaged before I used it or else she'd most certainly be alive."

Tilius made a move for Durellis but received a warning shot to the shoulder for all his efforts. He stumbled back and gave Durellis a venom filled look of contempt. "All those false promises… How long did you know?!"

"Perhaps a week or two at best. I'd planned on getting rid of the body once I'd fixed the unit but I suppose I was lucky that I didn't. I was beyond lucky, honestly, to find a human female had found her way onto the ship somehow. Such a convenient replacement, although her condition is surprisingly less than ideal." Durellis backed them up slowly and triggered the doors to shut behind him, the room insulated enough to muffle whatever ruckus the two decided to cause before dying. "Artificial body parts will surely drop the worth of display pieces but the psyche, now I'm sure someone will find that to be particularly interesting."

The Doctor felt his entire body tense at his words. Humans as a black market commodity. "So that's your game then. Tear these people away from their lives, their homes, their planet and sell 'em off to the highest bidder from some dark corner of the galaxy?"

"I'm not the only one who thinks humans are a fascinating race, Doctor. Their spirit, physiology, the variation in their species all make for appealing qualities to scientists like myself and," he paused a moment as if trying to find the appropriate word, "Collectors. I worked hard to collect these specimens and I'll be damned before I let you ruin-"

The sound of seals decompressing cut Durellis' rant short as the stasis pods began going through their reanimation phase. Durellis looked frantic and honestly, the Doctor was just about as surprised as he was. There was no way Tilius had been able to do this on a single faulty pod's control panel and the Doctor certainly hadn't had a hand in this either but hell if he was about to look the gift horse in the mouth this time.

The offending Atlantian made a dash for the control panels of the two fully functional pods, the closest one being Caligo's and made every attempt to reverse the process before his captives woke up.

The Doctor had just enough time to lock him out of the controls with his sonic before Durellis had his weapon trained on the two of them once again.

"I knew you'd be trouble," he growled irritably and shot a dirty look at Tilius. "And I knew you'd fall through on the job of getting rid of him, even for your darling Amelia. I suppose I'll have to explain Tilius' disappearance somehow but you, Doctor, I'm sure no one will-"

To say that he had been rudely cut off mid-evil monologue was putting it gently. The fist that burst through the stasis pod he was standing next to, however, was anything but. Durellis was surely out cold before he'd hit the floor and both the Doctor and Tilius leapt back as the pod's door was beaten open a moment later. A very disgruntled and perhaps exhausted Caligo stumbled out, grasping the psionic crystal device and clumsily ripped it from her chest before crushing it in her hand.

"Cal!" The Doctor was at her side in a moment, checking the holes in her skin left by the device. It looked as if it had been uprooted from metal and her skin was almost as cool as his body temperature. Somehow, she'd managed to pull herself from her stasis before the reanimation process had been complete, dangerous and reckless and bloody brilliant all in one.

"Save the lecture for later," she rasped, grasping his shoulder as he did his best to hold her up. "The middle unit… requires immediate medical attention." Caligo jerked her head in the general direction and leaned herself up against her stasis pod for support, giving the Doctor a good shove to boot.

Tilius gawked at her. "But Durellis said she was dead…!"

"Durellis is an imbecile," Caligo stated with unshakable certainty. "The seals to the unit were in poor condition but the stasis process was still functioning. She is still alive, I guarantee it."

"How can you be so sure?"

Caligo watched as the Doctor helped a barely conscious Amelia Earhart out of the stasis pod and check her pulse. The look on his face was all she needed to confirm what she had seen. "I detected brainwave activity. She was dreaming," she told him and glanced over at Tilius, "of you."

Once Amelia was handed off to Tilius, both Caligo and the Doctor proceeded to greet the male that stumbled out of the last pod. A sailor, it seemed, and by the reaction he gave them he was more than ready to go home rather than stand around and ask questions.

"What a day," the Doctor laughed as they made their way back to the Tardis. "Durellis will answer for his crimes back on their home planet, Tilius gets the girl, we got to meet a very alive Amelia Earhart and best of all? Nobody died~"

Caligo hummed softly in agreement, similarly pleased by the end result of things. What's more was the part she had played in all of this…

The Doctor stopped just at the Tardis doors and looked at her. He was still just the slightest bit shocked, amazed and unbelievably curious as to how she got control over the stasis pods and other things on that long list of his. "You plan on letting me in on this secret of yours?"

"Food first, Doctor. I'm rather famished after this… adventure of ours." Caligo held up a hand to silence him and was about to enter the Tardis when a voice called out to them.

"Doctor," Tilius half yelled as he and Amelia sprinted to catch them before they left. It was a bit of a surprise to all of them to see Amelia doing so well in such a short period of time after finding her in the condition they had, but again, why look the gift horse in the mouth? "We can't thank either of you enough," Tilius sighed, like a man who was at long last free to breathe the air unburdened by guilt.

"Don't have to thank us for anything." The Doctor was grinning from ear to ear as he turned to Amelia. "And you, Ms. Earhart. You get to be the first woman from Earth to see the stars with a proper alien!"

"Oh I'll get to see them alright," she beamed back, catching Caligo in the corner of her eye, "First or not." She smiled at the lieutenant as her eyes glossed over her aviator jacket. "Nice jacket."

Caligo grimaced a little, suddenly aware of the state of her appearance. "It's a bit worn," she mumbled.

"Prefer to think of it as well-traveled, personally." Amelia zipped her jacket up and wore it in a similar manner to Caligo's; well-traveled. "Hopefully it'll travel a little longer."

Amelia held her hand out and while Caligo didn't just yet understand the significance of who this woman was, she shook it nonetheless. "I return the sentiment, Amelia. Be safe out there." She could read up all about her later in the Tardis library and she surely would after shaking her hand.

"Great day," the Doctor repeated again as he threw the doors to the Tardis open and hopped inside. "Excellent, fantastic, brilliant day."


	10. Chapter 10

OKAY I'm honestly not keeping much of a schedule anymore since I'm done with finals at long last and my work days are all blending together with everything else. Typically what happens to me during Christmas. Funny that this chapter would be written and posted at such an appropriate time!

January is going to be some form of hell for me since I originally crammed in a bunch of important appointments and such in preparation for a move that just got pushed back cuz thank you school, you screwy thing you. Anyway, in a few chapters my posting schedule might become sporadic. Hopefully not, depending on how quickly I can shake this writers block but again we shall see.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and whatever doesn't offend you folks. Stay safe and don't be an asshole on the road.

* * *

Even the doctor could use a breather in between bouts of running haphazardly across time and space, even though they were never long. Still, more importantly than him, he was sure Caligo wouldn't mind a short break either. After traveling with human companions for so long he'd finally learned that they did indeed need rest periods for all the energy and lust for adventure they seemed to have in them. He could be patient, at least for a little while, for her sake. "I'll bet she'd never been put into stasis and then had to pop out of it herself early in the span of maybe thirty minutes before," he mused practically to the consul room itself.

Speaking of which, he was still unbelievably curious as to how she managed that. More so on the things he'd learned just by being in a small part of her mind for that short span of time. Appearing in her dream? The Doctor had concluded that to be the result of the psionic control devices but they had been separated quite a ways away from each other during that time. Although, the memories were easily linked to one another which made it all the more likely they would share the same thought. The more he thought about it, however, the more he came to notice that their dream was by far more heavily influenced by her rather than him. Of course a room in the Tardis could easily equal a dreamscape Blackridge any day but he hadn't had the chance to explore that possibility considering the circumstances of their situation. He wondered what he might've found inside the endless halls of the dream Tardis.

A whirr of machinery broke the train of thought and the red drone, large and brutish looking thing, came crawling out from under the consul. The white circle on the front of its – Yuki, if he recalled the name correctly – faceplate flashed before it began its slow journey into the halls of the very real Tardis. The Doctor had a feeling that meant Caligo had called for it and he wondered what on Earth she would need it for onboard the ship. So, of course, he followed it. There was no need for running, seeing as Yuki moved little faster than a relaxed walking pace. It came to the library, oddly enough, and the Doctor was sure to open the door for it before it possibly broke it somehow.

In the historic section of the library Caligo sat on the floor propped up against the shelf and Wilhelm on the floor beside her, inactive for the moment. While the meeting with Amelia Earhart had been a brief one, there was a heavy significance behind it and she wanted to know what that was exactly while the encounter was still fresh in her mind. She could feel her thought processes had slowed when she had first awoken from the stasis sleep and there was nothing like a little bit of light reading to warm the machinery back up so to speak. The thick biography was perched against one knee, page held by her left hand and the right resting atop Wilhelm's casing while she read.

The Doctor couldn't help it if at first glance he saw the unfriendly blonde male that was her partner sitting on the floor beside her, perhaps napping with her hand resting on his leg. Perhaps she wasn't intentionally trying, but it seemed she had all the makings of a robot family by her side. He didn't bother to keep his footsteps quiet but he wasn't intentionally trying to disturb her either. Funny, for someone who claimed to be able to barely react to her emotions, he had the faintest impression that she was ignoring him purposefully when he was standing right there in front of her. Could just be him though. "Got a table around here somewhere. Maybe some chairs," he mumbled as if thinking aloud.

"At the end of this section, take a left," she answered in turn, not a hint of anything in her voice other than she was definitely not paying attention to him in the slightest.

"Floor just cozier then?"

"I couldn't wait," she said after finally finishing what she wanted to read. Caligo closed the book and returned it to its proper spot on the shelf before mentally preparing. She knew the onslaught of questions and the Doctor's curiosity were fast approaching. Best to answer him right away and perhaps she could sleep a while longer this time. "Did you need something Doctor?" It always ended up sounding more like a statement rather than an answer.

"You know me," he half joked, "can't sit still for long." Part of him was extremely wary that Wilhelm would suddenly spring to life and convey that same contempt for his presence as he had in Caligo's dream world but the drone didn't so much as light up.

Caligo noticed the way his gaze flickered over to Wilhelm almost every other second while they stood there. Of course that would merit some explaining. "Do you remember that data core I extracted from the hunting robot that attacked us at the very least two weeks ago?"

The Doctor grimaced. "How could I forget?" A thought crossed his mind like a bullet, making his eyes bug out. "He's not about to up and shoot me is he? Cuz I'd like a bit of warning." Caligo's stare made it obvious that she thought he was mad. The Doctor, arms crossed over his chest, pouted a little. "It's a completely reasonable request."

"That's probably why it struck me as strange. Regardless, he will not harm you. He may not like you but that, I can't change. My point, however," she continued, "is that Wilhelm interacted with you the way he did because he is an AI constructed from the Draugr implant module from his body which is similar to that data core. That is most likely how he would have reacted to you had he truly met you."

It took a second, but the Doctor caught on to the strangest part of the entire explanation. "You ripped his spine out," he blurted out suddenly. "Blimey! Don't wanna get into a row with you, do I?" He rubbed the back of his neck, imagining what that might be like before wising up and banishing the thought. As a well-known British monarch had once said, we are not amused and he definitely wasn't. "Suppose we know who wore the pants in that relationship then?"

Caligo knew he wouldn't understand what life after death meant to a Dragur. Refused to, actually, but that wasn't his fault. It wasn't really his problem either so why be so keen to know what he doesn't want to hear? "It's better than the alternative. Do you remember that wall around Pillar when I took you there?" The mirth drained from his expression instantly and it was unfortunate, she thought, that talking about herself always led things in such a dismal direction. The only person that was really affected by it was him. Why couldn't she simply refuse to give him answers that he wouldn't like? Perhaps not lie, because she knew he would see through that, but she could always simply not answer him. "Bodies of Draugr who die are interned within the walls surrounding Pillar. Yuki's body is currently interned in the southmost wall. In the event of an alien incursion of any sort those units are mobilized as the first line of defense. These implants are made to function long after our deaths."

"And Pillar's the only one out of the lot that uses this?"

"There is no one else Doctor. As I said, Earth is different from what you probably remember." She saw his frown deepen and half anticipated that hesitance due to his ire but he didn't move, didn't argue, didn't try to stop her from saying more.

He didn't have anything else to say other than, "Tell me what happened," because he wanted to know. Everything. How, why, when, what, **who** had caused humanity to go so awry. There was the embers of a fire burning in him but it wouldn't do anyone any good if he didn't have a good place to direct it toward. It probably wouldn't have done anyone any good either way because even if he knew what, when and how, he couldn't go back and change it. He'd already seen the future and that future was standing before him now. Caligo. Changing the past and succeeding might very well mean that she would never come into existence and who was he, the lonely Time Lord, to decide if her existence was worth sacrificing? Even if it was a miserable one.

Caligo hadn't been expecting that answer. It took her a moment, watching him lean back against the opposite shelf with his hands stuffed into his pockets and looking just a tad expectantly at her. The shift in mood roused that hesitance to speak and Wilhelm's warning not to trust the Doctor stuck in her mind, but other than their first argument, what was such a warning based on? More to the point, she may have unintentionally led the conversation in that direction and it would be rude to suddenly change the subject without an appropriate Segway. "Before I begin, I must confide to you that this is not specifically my firsthand knowledge of events, but purely from records and files I accessed during my time as an active unit." She brushed her thick bangs back just the slightest bit so that she had a clearer view of him and his physical cues.

"It could be defined as being quite recent. As little as two centuries worth of time when looking from the beginning to the present day where you and I met. The beginning would, in this case, mean the point in time when the inhabitants of Earth realized that much of our population had already been infiltrated by beings known as the Cybermen. Like puppets, as it was described, and many such puppets held influential positions in Earth's governments, communities and even military. The group known as UNIT was responsible for detecting the infiltration of the entire human race but despite their best efforts, the truth was subdued for a disturbingly long period of time and in that time, many people walked willingly and ignorantly into the trap, being converted as the Cybermen amassed their forces."

"What? Why didn't UNIT stop them?"

"They couldn't. By the time the full scale of the invasion had been realized they were severely lacking in manpower to combat what was at that time half the population of Earth. Records indicated a plan of action to call for reinforcements, believing adamantly that it could turn the tide of battle but UNIT had also been compromised. The director then, Dorian Grimm, was one of many puppets of the Cybermen and had been for a very long time. There is no accurate record of what happened, but it was assumed that members of UNIT were either converted or died as part of the resistance. After that, it was a mere matter of time. Nations fell one by one and humanity was pushed back to the single reinforced point known today as Pillar."

Caligo watched the Doctor's reaction carefully thus far. He stood there in somber silence, listening, watching her too even. Their eyes caught each other easily enough and she could see in them something she had seen the most of in her short lifetime – guilt. The Doctor was undoubtedly fond of Earth and surely its near demise would hurt him to some degree, but what reason would he have to feel responsible?

"The human race faced annihilation at one point, but a researcher managed to come up with an overwhelmingly effective solution. Cassia Strauss created what is essentially a computer virus coded into DNA so that it could be transmitted via a host human when converted. It shut down the Cybermen's emotion dampening circuitry and essentially, they short circuited."

The Doctor's eyes lit up a little in surprise. A virus to stop the Cybermen. "That's brilliant~ But," he hesitated, the surprise and even that small bit of happiness from that news gave way to a bitter revelation. "How was it introduced to the Cybermen's hive mind? They would've just… wiped them out if they detected the anomaly."

"The virus was translated specifically to each individual's DNA so that it wouldn't be detected. Thirty-seven individuals volunteered for what was essentially a suicide mission. This count included doctor Strauss herself. The plan worked, but no one had anticipated that there would be survivors. Of the original thirty-seven volunteers twenty-three returned. Six were shot down in friendly fire because they retained their Cyberman appearance. Among the group was a cyberneticist, Cisco Von Clise, who designed android bodies for the use of survivors to reintegrate into the surviving population. It's unfortunate to say that it didn't end well. People were still scared knowing that, although the virus would prevent the response to any sort of orders of Cyberman origin, the components were still there."

The Doctor could feel the anger simmering in his belly. Fear, the awful thing, was like a double edged sword. Could keep you alive in a pinch but it quickly made people into monsters. "In the end, then, they still lost everything, didn't they?" It was more of a statement than a question however. "Doesn't explain how you lot, the Draugr, came into play though."

Caligo sighed as if she had been almost dreading that part of the history lesson. Still, they'd come this far and all it was were facts after all. "This emotion inhibiting function was, as I said before, a mercy of sorts. The original creation had all the good intentions of giving peace of mind to those who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from the entire ordeal but of course there was a great amount of ethical debate. Those who accepted it were more often than not the battle worn, barely survived and could hardly bring themselves to carry on and those who opposed were, perhaps, simply of stronger spirit. Humans break, Doctor, and in some of the most unfixable ways. While the surviving population was busy fighting amongst themselves on the issue and the survivors of doctor Strauss' platoon more or less in hiding from the social backlash they faced, Earth was unprepared for the second incursion that came nearly twenty years later. Are you familiar with the race known as the Tzar Kuree?"

His lips pursed in thought for a moment before nodding. "Big carnivorous reptilians, animalistic behavior but clever enough to commandeer most of the alien technology they find when the original owners have all been eaten. Tend to go around looking for food on any sort of planet, anything with meat on the bones and I'm liking the direction you're steering this in even less now."

"That's an appropriate reaction, because this is what made the Draugr necessary. The population still hadn't really recovered from near genocide by the time they invaded and an extremely unpopular decision was made. Doctor Von Clise modified and used the emotion inhibiting technology to turn the dead into soldiers that were in very much need. The dead vastly outnumbered the living after all, and even the fallen Tzar Kuree warriors were converted by means of this. They didn't stand a chance. Unfortunately, the assisting technician had been narrow minded in programming the inhibitors because the Draugr didn't stop until every last Tzar Kuree still on planet had been slain. The somewhat accidental borderline genocide put the surviving twenty-three from the Cyberman war in a bad situation, being treated so poorly before surely made them fearful and so they fled Earth. Most of them. Doctor Strauss and two others were apprehended just as the last functioning Tzar Kuree ship left orbit, stolen. Supposedly they were charged with treason, war crimes and promptly executed. The bodies were destroyed but the remaining Draugr, as the living ones came to be known, were not. They were kept under the pretense that they were obligated to be contributing members of society, which made the work of rebuilding easier. About two years after, the researchers in Central noticed that the average age of civilians had dropped from just a little over a hundred years to perhaps twenty to twenty-five years. This was attributed to a rise in crime, as the population was still stabilizing after the Tzar Kuree invasion and the Draugr were deployed by Central as a form of police. Those who were responsible for the most heinous of crimes were to serve as Draugr themselves as opposed to the traditional death penalty."

"And it spiraled from there," the Doctor murmured. The frown on his features had grown, he was sure because he could definitely feel it and Caligo had since stopped making eye contact or even looking in his general direction after explaining doctor Strauss' execution to him. "Doesn't sit right with you, does it?" For one reason or another, not likely because it seemed unfair that all this history amounted to the circumstances of her life.

"If you mean to say that I am unconvinced by the accounting of such things or that Wilhelm, Yuki and I are Draugr as a result of some sort of unspeakable crime we've committed, you are correct. But this is also another thing I'm physically unable to dwell on." Caligo gestures to the metal protrusion hidden behind her long, wavy locks, not really needing to explain much further. "To speak for myself, my earliest memories are of my training with Yuki. Up until a certain point, I had no designated last name and they had suddenly started calling me by Valgus the day that Yuki died."

It was like they had just replaced Yuki with Caligo, but that stood to reason when everyone's mindset was that these people weren't people, but interchangeable and replaceable tools. Not on his Tardis though. Not with him. "What made you so sure Wilhelm wasn't a kleptomaniac who stole the crown jewels then," he asked, attempting to lighten the mood and steer her away from what might very well have been another inhibitor triggering disaster.

Caligo glanced down at the steel blue drone for a moment, all those years together coming back slowly but fresh as the morning snowfall on Blackridge. "I had a lot of time to get to know him," she finally says, and again, it's something that merits an explanation. "A Draugr is highly unaware of their emotions and individual thoughts. I should say a typical Draugr with an emotional inhibitor functioning at the range of eighty-seven to ninety-two percent. However, because of odd genetic anomalies, certain traits have appeared in more recent series of Draugr, our series to be precise. Wilhelm's genetic anomaly caused him to be telepathic and highly sensitive to the psionic field of other individuals. Our implants were paired so that I would act as a buffer to keep him from becoming overwhelmed by this and to keep my emotional spikes from causing excessive damage to myself. It was no concern to them just how far our two minds would intertwine and eventually we simply began acting as a single unit."

The Doctor's gaze softened. Wilhelm's death left an impact on her, he knew, and he knew what it was like to lose such a deep seated bond. It left a hole in you in more ways than one and you can never quite fill that. There's no replacing that individual who once dwelled within both your mind and hearts and you can never let go so easily. But as much as she might try, he knows, she can't recreate him and she will never replace him whether it's because she failed to do so or simply that she won't. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as she stared down at the drones sitting on the floor. "It's not easy, but it'll get better."

"It has to," she murmured. As she turned, Caligo glanced down at the hand on her shoulder but didn't brush it away. There was that strange sensation again, the unease that came with being in such close proximity of another individual. Odd, that physical contact with the Doctor was more concerning than physical contact with someone like Patricia. Both, while she wouldn't wish to dream of it, she was sure would be easy to incapacitate if ever they were found in a situation requiring it. She forced the thoughts aside, however. If such situations ever did arise, Caligo knew what needed to be done. "I'm sorry Doctor. Perhaps this conversation could have waited for another day. It seems to have spoiled the mood."

"Cal." Gently, the Doctor turned her to face him and held both of her shoulders, feeling the cool leather dip ever so slightly beneath his fingers. "Never think that you talk too much. I'll always be happy to listen."

"That is a strange guarantee to make," she stated almost coldly despite his friendly gesture. Her mind flashed back almost unwillingly to the argument they had the first time he'd returned her to Blackridge. The fury she had seen in his eyes and, oh, the disappointment. Caligo understood, maybe at some level, but how the fire in his eyes made something burn uncomfortably within her chest when he looked at her too closely as he did now.

The Doctor half rolled his eyes and smiled. "Nothing strange about it. Imagine. With a gob like mine it wouldn't be fair if over half the time it was all me that talked. Like you said before, talking but not really saying much eh? I'll bet you've got things to say and you say 'em whether I'm listening or not, which I probably should 'cause that's rude otherwise. I get told that a lot you know-"

"Doctor. You're doing it again."

"Right. Sorry. What about you?"

Caligo quirked a brow, unsure of how to answer.

The Doctor almost rolled his eyes again, baffled that she hadn't been paying attention to her own words. "You said your 'series'," he explained, making sure to use his fingers for air quotes around 'series' just for the sake of displaying how annoyed he was with the way she constantly generally referred to herself, "has genetic anomalies that lead to funny traits like being telepathic. Are you saying you're telepathic and you haven't told me?" He suddenly lifted his hands away from her shoulders and fixed her with a suspicious yet playful look.

"Ah. I see," Caligo murmured, inwardly relieved that he had distanced himself a little now. "No, I'm not a telepath like Wilhelm. I suppose it could be said that I am among the strangest however. They call me a technopath." Something about the look of fascination and curiosity so blatantly displayed on his features made her almost hyperaware of their proximity to one another but the burning feeling in her chest was little more than a simmer at the moment. Caligo retrieved the PDA like device from her tool belt and removed the glove on her right hand. The moment her flesh came into contact with the casing, the device turned itself on and very specific data of her glider project was pulled up. "Coming into direct contact with technology gives me the ability to access and manipulate information on it and anything else I can connect myself to through it. Of course, certain materials and alloys prevent my access and a complex enough system can keep me at bay but I have a significant amount of control over this function. Keeping my hands covered eases the burden of directing effort into controlling it. I try not to intrude where I'm not wanted unless orders or the situation dictates otherwise."

"And that's how you changed the commands on the stasis pods and knew Amelia was alive," the Doctor murmured as he attempted to take a glance at the data on her PDA, but to no avail. Still, his new companion was surprising him a little more every day. "That's brilliant~ Oh! Right! Durellis' control device. Hurt like the dickens when you took mine off by the way-"

"I warned you."

"But I never checked to see if you were okay. Really gotta watch that. Getting to be a bit rude even to you now." The Doctor glanced at her chest almost immediately where he remembered the device had once been perched before directing them up to her face when he realized his mistake. "How's that looking?"

Caligo pulled the collar of her jacket and blouse back about an inch to reveal two of the prong marks, the skin looking stiff and just the slightest bit discolored but without any real harm done. "The looks of it may alarm you, but my skin is extremely resilient, at least in comparison to a human. Like living metal. It heals slowly but that only becomes a cause for concern if I've been injured in the first place." Her jacket and blouse collars were properly replaced in an instant and Caligo put her PDA away. "I feel that it goes without saying that water and electrical currents are not exactly my elements," she muttered.

"Oh absolutely. None of that dangerous sort of thing on the Tardis." The Doctor couldn't help but notice the way she kept her eyes on other things rather than him, seeing as she usually gave the utmost attention to whomever she was conversing with. She was still only human, despite the genetic anomalies and being a Draugr and blah blah blah. "Well, off to bed then yeah? Stasis is no sort of substitute for good ol' fashion sleep."

"I don't believe that I'm tired, nor has that process taken a particular toll on me. But if you need the rest then I will go."

Now he felt like that was a challenge. Him? Needing sleep? Clearly she, like many of his companions, needed a crash course in Time Lord physiology because if she thought she could outlast him she had another thing coming entirely. "Me? Nah. Thing about Time Lords is we don't sleep much. Don't need it really so if you're ready to go then allons-y~"

"It would probably be better if we avoided anything exploding or being kidnapped again. Someplace with less seafood as well perhaps." It wasn't one of her more favored foods but it was nice to know what it was exactly that she was eating.

The Doctor was about to make a jab at her about her dislike for seafood and what exactly the **fish** and chips they've had a couple times already were when he remembered something. "I owe you Christmas!"

"What?"

"Christmas! A right proper one at that. Lights, a Christmas tree, presents," he started, striding toward the door like he couldn't wait to program the coordinates and really, he couldn't. "Imagine you're a hard person to shop for."

Caligo stared at him for a long moment. What was she supposed to say to him? She had absolutely no idea what Christmas was but there wasn't much of an argument that would stop the Doctor when he was this excited. Caligo sighed quietly and followed him back to the consul room, Wilhelm and Yuki already having orders to return to her room now when she wasn't with them. "A proper meal would be a more than suitable gift Doctor. Where are we going?"

"Earth," he chirped as he threw the leaver up. "2013 to be precise." He gave her a wink to ease what was surely a great amount of apprehension in her eyes the moment he mentioned Earth. He wasn't so daft that he'd take her back to Blackridge to celebrate the holiday after the last fiasco. "Normally I'd say we could go to Antiope but you don't even know what a normal Christmas is like, so!" The Tardis landed and the Doctor met the lieutenant over at the door. He couldn't help the brewing grin and opened the doors for her. "How's Christmas in Paris for a start?"

The sun outside was bright and glorious and Caligo stepped out cautiously onto the snow covered metal structure they were perched on – onto the Eiffel tower if she'd known enough to recognize it. The city was bustling with life below them, rooftops covered by a blanket of snow, people trudging through the streets and cars that looked so much more archaic than what one might see in Pillar. But this was four hundred years before her time and there was something about it… "How are we going to get down there?"

"Stairs of course," the Doctor told her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. But he couldn't blame her for missing it though. How could Caligo ignore a view like this? "It's Christmas eve, Cal. There's food and eggnog and parties and let me tell you, Miss Valgus," the Doctor declared with all the enthusiasm of the season, "the French **know** how to party~"

The Doctor offered his elbow for her to take, as he always did, despite the fact that she had only ever taken hold of it once. Caligo felt a tingling sensation in her chest, the precursor to that of internally combusting under his gaze and did her best to push it to the back of her mind. She made sure that her gloves were comfortably in place, as there would surely be some sort of retribution if anyone from this time period were to see a false limb such as this, before tentatively curling her hand around the crook of his elbow. She wanted to return the smile at least for the sake of conveying that she was grateful for the gesture but she couldn't. He'd see through her false emotions the way she could see through most of his reassurances that he was okay. "Doctor, what exactly is eggnog?"

"Well if we can find a nice pub you can try it for yourself! Maybe this time we'll even get to finish our chips eh?" It was slow but steady progress with the lieutenant. Everything was but that was fine, what with having all the time in the universe to get to know her. Wouldn't dare go off and make that same mistake twice… She didn't ask questions about whether or not the people were actually speaking the native language – somehow she couldn't guess what the national language of France was – or how it was they were able to understand it – apparently the **Tardis** had told her "not to worry about that" – but if they sounded like they were speaking French to the locals. "It's a big, complicated psychic thing that comes with a ship like the Tardis," he told her in the end.

"Is that supposed to deter me from asking what that means?"

"Well, no. You're welcomed to try but-"

"I'll spare you the trouble if you'll stop at the café here," she sighed, gesturing to a small café at the corner of the block they were on, as if the walk were taking its toll on her.

The Doctor looked at her, definitely confused. "Hardly gotten started and you need a break?"

"Doctor, you've just walked us past several eating establishments already and I'm very hungry." Caligo almost didn't stop walking until the Doctor did and watched as he looked between the café at the corner and down the row of bakeries, eateries and perhaps even a grocery store. He looked, simply put, baffled to see that she was correct. Clearly his mind had been somewhere other than Paris but that wasn't exactly a strange occurrence. Caligo waited quietly for him to, first off, get over it and second, decide if he did indeed want to go to the café at the corner or try one of the places they'd passed and he'd blatantly ignored along the way. It was still early morning from the looks of it. They had time.

The Doctor cleared his throat and lightly scratched at the back of his neck. _Oh come on Doctor. Pay a little more attention than that would you?_ He kicked himself mentally as he picked out a nice looking restaurant for them to try out. "Right. Sorry. Food. Food and eggnog," he declared and practically dragged her along to the restaurant. "That's another thing. Really great food here~ Bet you five quid you'll love it."

"I don't know what that is," she murmured as they entered the small dining establishment, "but I will take your recommendation." Two things immediately stood out to Caligo. First, the dining area was packed, people taking up almost every square foot of available space on the floor and second, everyone was thoroughly engrossed in their food and conversations. Perhaps one or two people glanced up briefly but no one's eyes lingered for more than a second. Caligo was suddenly aware of how strange and relieving that revelation was. Her presence in a room anywhere back in Pillar certainly drew the attention of any and all patrons, but not here. Was it because it was this city? Or was it the time period?

"Table for two, sir," the waitress asked and proceeded to chat the Doctor up whilst taking them to an open table. The conversation didn't last long, however, because he'd almost immediately gone back to talking about the food, the culture and the sites they should see while they were there, any manner of things that came to mind.

Their meals were simple but Caligo was grateful to have proper food in her stomach at last, though how it was exactly they would pay for the bill that surely still came at the end was beyond her. She had money, but was fairly certain that Pillar's form of currency wouldn't be accepted here. While the Doctor assured her that it wouldn't be a problem, it would've been easier to enjoy her panini and coffee if she knew exactly what he had up his sleeve. A small chocolate mousse was split between them – along with the Doctor's insistence to remember to brush her teeth when they got back to the Tardis – and Caligo was definitely overly suspicious when he not only paid the bill but left a seemingly generous tip for the waitress whom she believed was clearly interested in him in an intimate context.

The Doctor couldn't help wincing when he watched Caligo drink hot beverages. Even for him, swallowing ten ounces of fresh, scalding hot coffee didn't sound like much of a party and he really was tempted to scold her for doing it this time, right in front of an equally stunned waitress. He had to admit though, that it was beyond hilarious to see her eyes bug out. "Well come on," he urged, jumping to his feet, "If you wanna look around we ought to do it quick before everything closes up. Christmas eve and all that. There's a nice little shop couple blocks down I really do like. Little knickknacks and stuff. Kind of reminds you of Patricia's shop only more organized and newer."

Patricia. _I still owe her another visit_ , Caligo thought almost ruefully. It was probably well past Christmas back in Pillar, December 29th if she remembered correctly. She would surely be upset at her for putting it off for so long since it wasn't as if that were a reason to not visit. "That sounds perfect. Please lead the way." She had hardly any time at all to get the sentence out of her mouth before the Doctor was off, hopefully headed in the direction of the shop, as if he couldn't have been more excited that she had agreed to this. Then again he probably would've gone off anyway. It didn't matter, since the Doctor's destination was her own at the end of the day, and made sure to stay close in the busy Paris streets.

The shop was near a park and did in fact have a rustic welcoming feel about its atmosphere when they entered. The shopkeeper was a middle aged man with an amber colored receding hair line and a slight crook in his nose that made his happy expression just a little awkward. There were quite a few wooden shelves lined in rows and filled with books, music, movies and all manner of bits and bobs that, altogether, wouldn't normally be found in the same store.

Caligo paced through the shelves slowly while the Doctor amused himself with all sorts of things on the shelves before she found herself by a shelf filled with movies. A small Sony portable DVD player – as the tag on the corner read – was nestled against the back of the shelf playing what she guessed from the box sitting on top of it to be Wreck-it Ralph. It seemed like such a silly movie in the beginning. Definitely aimed at children, the bright colors and such. But as the movie progressed any thoughts belittling the film were forgotten and before Caligo had realized, she'd stood there in the shop and watched it from beginning to end.

The villain who wanted to be more than what he was designed to be, to love and be loved in return. The hero who came to realize the worst day of his life was every day of his villain's life. The acceptance that at the end of the day, they would play the roles they were programmed to play and that was okay. That didn't mean they were good or bad people for it. "I'm bad, and that's good. I'll never be good and that's not bad," Ralph said as he plummeted into and shattered the cap of the candy volcano to save his friends, "There's no one I'd rather be than me…"

"Cal?" The Doctor was concerned to find his companion having been staring at a shelf for nearly two hours straight now, not to mention the shopkeeper was giving them funny looks. When Caligo didn't answer him he placed and gentle hand on her shoulder and broke her out of her stupor. She seemed startled by the not-so-sudden contact and stared at him, wide eyed with damp streaks running down her cheeks. "Cal, what's wrong," he asked, even more worried now. As unusual as it already was, he'd never seen her look so sad before, or anything else except for annoyed for that matter. "What's the matter?"

Caligo finally seemed to have snapped out of her daze and ran a hand over her cheeks, startled to find that they were quite damp and her eyes stung and blurred for some reason.

"What're you crying for," the Doctor asked gently.

"I don't know," she murmured, "I didn't know that I could." Caligo sniffled, another action she found to be quite odd, and quickly turned her attention anywhere other than the Doctor or the shopkeeper. On a shelf nearby she spotted a snow globe with a red base and containing a miniature of the Eiffel Tower on which they had landed, decorated with fake Christmas lights and some odd green trimming on its edges. "I want to get this for Patricia," she told him in as strong a voice as she could muster. She was sorely hoping to distract him from whatever was happening to her at this very moment but worry was written all over his face.

"Course we can get it. Gonna be okay," he asked, just a little hesitant. He didn't like the way she only nodded at him, refusing to make eye contact. Was she surprised that she was able to cry or that she was even doing it at all and why hadn't the inhibitor kicked in? The damn thing was usually so reliable. Mentally kicking himself for that last bit, he went to pay for the little snow globe.

"The lady alright," the shopkeeper asked, tilting his head toward Caligo who seemed to be fiddling with her gloves at the moment.

"Yeah, fine. Just fine. Probably just the movie huh?"

"It's a kid's film, but I understand. Some things just hit home hard." The shopkeeper waved his hand away and smiled. "Go on, take it. It's Christmas after all. Take care of the lady."

The Doctor smiled at the man and threw down some cash anyway. "Merry Christmas then. Cal!"

"Doctor you don't have to-"

The Doctor jumped, hearing her voice just behind him and spun around to stare at her. "Should get you a nice bell for Christmas so I can hear you coming," he groaned with a roll of his eyes. "Eggnog then. Warm you up a bit, yeah?" He couldn't help smiling when he caught the slightest upturn of her lips and grabbed her hand to lead her out of the shop. "I promised you a party too, didn't I?" The smile dropped almost instantly at the mention of a party. That's right, she didn't get on well with people. But people in this time period were different. "I can promise you too that people in this era are different and you are safe with me." He remembered Wilhelm's warning to Caligo. _You ought not to trust him as much as you do_ , he recalled the drone telling her, and if she'd simply up and flown off with him in his Tardis, how much could she possibly trust him? Some alien she hardly knew. An alien who had managed to have her abducted at least twice since they ventured off into space together. Almost surely forgot all about her the first time around…

Caligo could see the frown forming on his face but from what, she couldn't rightfully tell. She gave the gentlest squeeze to the hand that held hers and quietly urged him to come back to the world they were in at this moment. "A party sounds interesting Doctor. Perhaps then we could go and visit Patricia after." She did her best to smile, a real meaningful one, even if the feeling wasn't actually there. Just to put him at ease. Just to see him smile as if he were truly happy in that moment because for some reason, seeing him so troubled when they were together troubled her. _Wilhelm used to look like that so often_. She thought about asking what worried him, what had him looking so scared sometimes but in some astounding ways, they were similar. They didn't much like talking about themselves.

"Right! Patricia," he suddenly blurted out. "Remind me to tell her to stop calling me a kid. Doesn't rightly know what she's talking about, her."

It was like flipping a switch and suddenly the Doctor was back on planet Earth in the year 2013, dragging a Draugr from the future to little shops, nativities in parks and pubs for parties as if this were normal. After all, what did time mean when you were having a good time with a friend? It was still only early evening when they found themselves back on top of the Eiffel Tower, sitting with their feet dangling off the edge of the platform and going through a box shaped like a Christmas tree filled with chocolates in little slots with numbers of days on them. The Doctor and Caligo were probably on number twenty and eight respectively at the moment.

"Not bad for a first Christmas, right?" The Doctor glanced over at Caligo, a crème filled sleigh shaped chocolate in his hand just waiting to be eaten. For him, it was nice to finally spend a Christmas with someone again and no one dying or ships crashing, etc. Sure, there were plenty of companions whom he was sure wouldn't mind him popping in for Christmas dinner with the family, but for him? Days like today were probably about as domestic as it got. But it had still been a good day, because, yes, he still counted their trip to Atlantis as part of today, and you ought to have happy holidays like Christmas on good days.

Caligo glanced over to the Doctor who clearly looked very proud of himself and nodded, her mouth full of a chewy, caramel filled chocolate. She didn't bother to help the exasperated look on her face when he'd begun to laugh, realizing why she couldn't speak. Caligo sorely hoped that, at least for now, he had forgotten about the incident at the shop after breakfast. Her eyes slowly scanned the rooftops and the now strangely quiet city. The streets were empty and most everyone was at home now, doing whatever it was they did on Christmas eve. "I appreciate this Doctor. It's a beautiful sight. It's a little strange to think that people used to be so different but I believe you are right."

"You'll have to be more specific than that," he teased.

Caligo hummed softly and finished her gob impairing treat before laying back against the metal platform, feet still dangling off the edge. She briefly heard the Doctor chide her for suddenly deciding to be tired while training her gaze across the night sky. Even the stars looked different here. "What happens on Christmas day?"

The Doctor shrugged out of habit even though he knew she wasn't even so much as watching him in her peripherals. "Open presents, have dinner with family, things like that." He took another bite of his crème filled chocolate. "Shops 're all closed. Nothing for us to do 'cept go and see Patricia. Y'know we don't have to-" The Doctor stopped short when he saw that his companion was laying back against the cold metal, a familiar and absolutely ridiculous looking scarf he'd found in the wardrobe for her bunched up around her neck and behind her head and eyes definitely shut. He smiled just a little, knowing the day – probably more than a day in reality – had been a long one and murmured, "Guess I'll tell you when the sun's up. Merry Christmas Cal."

"Merry Christmas Doctor…"


	11. Chapter 11

So here's me not realizing that I could just check the date of my last update on the story to see how long it's been since I posted something. I'm brilliant. Get me the hell out of here.

ANYWAY. Here's this. Honestly can't remember whether or not I had a beta on this unfortunately. :/ But still! I thank all of my friends who helped me on this and am still screaming profusely about writing Sci-fi fics that deal mostly with math and physics when I'm studying plants. Netflix also didn't renew the license for Doctor Who which was essentially the only reason why I joined so now I can't watch ANY season of Doctor Who and I'm never home/able to use a TV when it's on so I'm just...I don't know. If anyone could recommend a good source to reference the 10th Doctor's personality for my writing would you please do be a solid and PM me about it? Would really help because I can't find anything reliable/I can confirm or deny that it would sound like something he'd do. This is what I get for getting overly excited about them showing Classic Who episodes on TV and thinking that Netflix would always have the New Who episodes, fire, you fool. Gah!

Side note, the date that they do back to is December 29th I believe. Also, hella disclaimer on Doctor Who

* * *

When the Tardis touched down back in Pillar, a few things ran through the Doctor's mind. First, that had probably been his smoothest landing yet. Second, he felt as if he deserved a compliment or two for landing in such hostile territory and yes, Pillar was certainly hostile. His last experience still left a bad taste in his mouth but he'd have to put up with it, hopefully for no more than an hour at most. The lieutenant certainly did ask some of the hardest favors of him… "Cal," he yelled down the corridor leading to her room, "Just landed. C'mon, what're you doing in there? Catch a cold from sleeping out in the snow?"

"Just a moment Doctor," Caligo sighed. The snow globe had been safely packed away inside a spare box she had found lying around and the Tardis, she assumed, had been kind enough to supply her with wrapping materials suited for the season. Red paper and a gold ribbon bow with a little Christmas tree shaped tag attached to it. It was perhaps the first time she'd ever wrapped a present, but practice storing her equipment made perfect it seemed. As Caligo exited her room, it seemed the Doctor couldn't resist taking a peek inside and she didn't pass up the opportunity to close the door on his face. "Are we at Patricia's shop?"

The Doctor pretended to look more insulted than he actually was. "You don't trust me?"

"Just a question Doctor." But that was definitely one she knew she couldn't avoid answering forever. It could, however, wait until today was over. Christmas day; or at least as close as it would get. Caligo looked down at the package in her hands one last time before heading out into the chilly winter morning with the Doctor. Patricia's shop was closed and none of the lights in the second floor were on, something Caligo thought was strange considering it was well within store hours and, as far as she knew, the woman never took a day off. A frown settled on her features and her mind carefully went through all of the possible explanations for such behaviors.

"Probably at home," the Doctor offered.

"The second floor of the building is her living quarters Doctor. I know because she had asked Wilhelm and I once or twice to help her fix an issue she had with the lighting and her stove." She could just as easily break into the store, but that was illegal. Still, Caligo tried her luck and much to her alarm, the shop door swung open with no resistance at all. It had been left unlocked and something jolted through her body at the realization. Caligo shoved the package into the Doctor's hands and was about to go running in when they heard a voice from the walkway.

"She's in the hospital, Mrs. Nelson," a young lady, perhaps in her mid-twenties, told them. She was bundled up in a thick brown winter coat, hands stuffed into her pockets and wearing snow boots and jeans. Her wool cap was pulled low over her amber colored hair and she eyed the pair with a little more curiosity than caution. "I see you come around sometimes. Used to be a bloke with you. Different one I mean."

Caligo's posture remained rigid as she turned to face the woman. How long had she known Patricia? How had she known she was in the hospital? "What happened to her."

The woman looked slightly taken aback by Caligo's attitude but when she noticed the silver rank gleaming against her jacket sleeve it was as if she understood. Her eyes swam with pity as she looked at them. "Heart attack I reckon. My dad went in to bring her groceries and found her on the floor behind the counter. Was a few days ago and she hasn't been back since."

The Doctor glanced back at Caligo just in time to see something flicker across her stone cold façade before it was gone again. Humans were always so surprised by their own fragile nature, especially when they aged. "Don't suppose we could visit her," he asked the woman.

"Maybe. You, at least. Don't know about her." The woman gestured with her chin toward Caligo. She looked at them thoughtfully for a minute before fixing her gaze on the lieutenant again. "Always thought she was a bit funny, being friendly with Draugs and all," she said. But then she smiled, just a little as if she were afraid of who might be watching, and told them, "Tell her the Masons said Merry Christmas." With that, she went on her way.

The Doctor watched her a moment longer before turning back to his companion. "Nice to know not everyone here is so unfriendly. Must be a neighbor girl." If he didn't know any better, he might've said Caligo looked uncertain and perhaps a bit worried, still staring at the spot where the woman had been standing. He tried, honestly did, to figure what she was thinking at that moment without actually taking a peek but he couldn't. At least, he didn't have a definite answer as to what it was that was bothering her. "Well come on," he said, nudging her arm, "ought to visit her on Christmas, don't you think? What we came out here for after all."

"You're right," she murmured, "The hospital is this way."

Caligo had agreed to leave her tool belt and jacket with security, leaving her insignia to be worn on her left shoulder like a blaring warning to anyone who caught sight of it. The Doctor, for the most part, had been spared this unnecessary precaution thanks to his psychic paper and some heavy smooth talking of the officers on duty. He'd managed to save the present from being inspected to pieces thankfully and that was more than Caligo could have asked for. She thought they'd been quite lucky, despite how the Doctor fussed about all this unnecessary worry about what they thought she might do in a hospital, just to have been let in but the important part was that they were here and thankfully, so was Patricia.

She looked so unusually feeble, laying there in bed with a tube feeding oxygen in through her nose and all sorts of monitors displaying her vitals. It was even more obvious when she greeted them from her half sitting position in bed, her voice cracking and hardly better than a strained whisper. Neither the Doctor nor Caligo needed to speak to the treating physician to know that she probably didn't have much time left for her.

"Good ta see ya sweet pea," Patricia croaked with an almost toothless smile.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner," Caligo murmured, coming to stand at her bedside. She grasped the elderly woman's hand gently when she reached for her, making her bony fingers look so fragile. Caligo had foregone her usual leather gloves, knowing that physical contact was more meaningful when it didn't seem like you were trying to protect yourself from someone else.

"Aye," the old woman hissed, "Your hands feel like ice!" Patricia shot the Doctor a dirty look and managed to raise her voice a tad higher, grating as it sounded. "You not taking care of her stick man?!"

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up, a little offended by the accusation but the look Caligo gave him bite his tongue. "Got caught up in the snow earlier. Talking to a neighbor girl. Mason family. You know them?"

Patricia's harsh gaze softened like a grandmother's and she gave a low, wheeze like chuckle. "Musta been 'Melia… Her daddy called the ambulance for me. Nice man, good girl," she mused softly. She turned to Caligo again and caught sight of the present she held against her hip this time. "What's all that now? You brought me something sweet pea?"

Remembering what they had initially came for, Caligo placed the present on the bed and slid it close enough for the old woman to reach. "Merry Christmas Patricia. It's from the Doctor and I." She helped her unwrap the gift and, with the utmost care, held the snow globe up for her to see properly. "I thought you might like this."

"The Eiffel Tower in Paris," the old woman crooned softly, fingers running slowly along the globe's surface as she admired the snow covered miniature inside. "Only ever read about it in books but I heard it's a lovely city. Well, used to be anyway… Thank you sweet pea. Awful thoughtful for you kids to be thinking of an old thing like me." Patricia smiled and pat Caligo's hand a little, squeezing it in her weak grasp. She let the globe rest in her lap and flicked her hand out toward the Doctor, still standing in the doorway. "Come and sit down stick man. Make me nervous, just standing there like that. What's all this with getting me a gift? You're with my Cal. I'm not gonna like you any more than I did first time we met."

God knows what she meant by that but still, the Doctor found a spare chair to sit in whilst Caligo sat beside her on the bed. "Cal's idea, really," he explained, gesturing to the snow globe, "All I did was find the shop."

"And what shop, if not mine, did you two find this in?" The old woman pretended to sound and look annoyed but the amused glimmer in her eyes gave her away.

The Doctor grinned and leaned in a little closer as if he had a secret to share. Although, if he were being honest, he might've been a tad uneasy about mentioning the Tardis so casually in this city. If anyone got their hands on the old girl, well, he didn't really want to know what they'd want to do with a time machine. "A little shop in Paris," he told her with a hint of glee. "I know all kinds of little shops. Really like them – Ow!"

"Don't you go making nonsense up like that," Patricia scolded almost viciously and swatted at his arm again. "Probably not even the tower's still standing in Paris these days, much less some toy shop. I'm old, not daft!"

"He's not lying Patricia," Caligo added softly, rubbing the back of the old woman's hand gingerly. "It's a long sort of story. I doubt you'd believe me any more than if I said the Doctor is an alien."

Patricia hummed softly and wagged a bony finger at Caligo. "You just go on and try, you kids," she challenged.

So, with the Doctor's editing here and there, Caligo quietly regaled the tale of their trip to 20th century Paris in a time traveling spaceship called the Tardis and how she'd seen her first movie, a children's movie and how it made her cry. How they were abducted by aliens hiding beneath the waves of the Bermuda Triangle, shaking hands with Amelia Earhart and camping on a planet where the stars had torn it asunder and the waters flowed freely through the air like it belonged there. Patricia felt the telltale thump of two hearts beating in the Time Lord's chest and the thud of her own as she waited for Caligo to explain exactly how she'd convinced a gun toting sport hunter to let her go after lying to his face like he was a complete idiot.

Patricia loved the stories, both the Doctor and Caligo could tell, even if she perhaps didn't believe them for a second. He could see it in her eyes. The innocent wonder that was so fantastically human and it made her look young again. Caligo held the old woman's hand gently in her own as she started to tell her own stories. Stories he'd never heard from her before. Stories of when it was Caligo and Wilhelm, not Caligo and the Doctor. Stories, the Time Lord was certain, weren't as carefree and innocent as they sounded but they weren't entirely lies. Eventually, so many stories had put the old woman to sleep and they gladly let her rest. She needed it after all.

It was a terrible thing to feel just from the brush of a finger. Patricia's pulse was growing weaker and weaker by the minute. It was like watching as the woman's life force slowly left her body and she was none the wiser as she slept. The Doctor stood to stretch and took a look at her chart while he was up and about. "Cellular degeneration. That doesn't happen because of a heart attack," he murmured, returning the chart to its slot. He wanted to say that whoever wrote this was just so thick that they'd written the wrong thing but seeing Patricia so weak like this made him wonder.

"They're not wrong," Caligo answered softly.

"What makes you think that?"

The lieutenant, with her free hand, carefully detached what looked to be a black stud earring from her left ear and placed it on the bed. The black disk displayed a large holographic screen containing Patricia's vitals from the last hour or so down to a cellular level that told no lie. The diagnosis had been correct, although it seemed they didn't have a treatment for it. But what was there to do about it? She was already an old woman by human standards.

The Doctor looked over the data, wondering now more than ever as to why there wasn't some sort of specialist or something trying to help the old woman. An equally important and much easier question was how Caligo obtained this data. "How're you doing it," he asked, almost certain that whatever she was using to monitor Patricia's health was still scanning her. At first he suspected her frighteningly brilliant mechanical arm, but then he remembered how Patricia had complained about how cold her hands were and Caligo had refrained from touching her with her prosthetic hand. The Doctor caught the motion of her hand training gently through her wild bangs and Durellis' admonishment of Caligo's prosthetic **parts** flashed through his mind like electricity through a circuit that had just been completed. A finger caught the tail ends of her out of control locks, revealing the subtle but undeniable presence of a silver line running from the corner of Caligo's right eye to her temple and branching off slightly toward her ear.

"I can't find a cause for cellular degeneration but," she paused, as if unsure of how to tell him, "she doesn't have long." Caligo ignored the fact that she had just blatantly ignored his question. It wasn't important. What was, right now, was that perhaps one of the only humans she'd ever know in her life to show genuine kindness and a lack of fear of her was dying, and very soon. This woman, to her, was admirable and wonderful even. She deserved so much more and so much better than for her life to end in someplace as pitiful as this dull hospital room. There was a twinge of guilt for simply sitting there when she could possibly, maybe do something about it. "I know I've asked quite a lot of you in the short time we've known each other, but I was hoping for one last thing, Doctor," Caligo murmured softly.

The Doctor felt his entire being still for just a moment and he hoped – as awful as it was and as much of a bastard it made him – that the next words out of his companion's mouth wouldn't be her asking for the impossible. Although it wasn't really actually a hundred percent impossible and he knew there were ways around the mess that came with interfering with the laws of time because he was brilliant but he didn't want to tell her that he honestly didn't think Patricia would survive the time it took to find her a proper cure for human cellular degeneration. It usually wasn't an issue at all with normal human beings. But he couldn't tell her that and at the same time he couldn't **not** tell her that because he was a damn coward trying to be a good man. All he could do was hope. Hope that she wouldn't ask him to do something that probably wouldn't help at all, pray that she wouldn't plead for him to find some sort of cure, only to arrive just a little too late and let her down. "What is it," he replied, equally soft and barely managing to maintain the façade of ignorance to the probable nature of her request.

"If it's at all possible," she started, gently laying the old woman's hand back down on the bed and turning to look up at him properly. "Would you take us somewhere? There's something I want to show her before…" Caligo glanced back briefly at Patricia. She looked so fragile that moving her might do little more than make her uncomfortable if they were lucky. She'd never thought of her much further than the shop lady and certainly never so much as an old woman. Not until today at least. "Before she leaves." Caligo moved the snow globe to a small bedside table that was just within the patient's reach from the bed if they were able to roll over at least, holding it thoughtfully for a moment. "The future. When we first met you were surprised to find that this was Earth's future, correct? I've come to the conclusion that you know of a different future for Earth and the human race. A better one. A kinder one than this." She didn't wait for him to answer before making her mind up about the destination. "I want her to remember this world as more than what it is."

The Doctor was grinning at her, not full force but it was still a pleasant expression and he could tell she was extremely confused by it but that was okay. "I'll go get the Tardis," he said, already moving for the door, half running by the time he was out of the room, "You two wait right there, yeah?"

Caligo watched him sprint out the door without a care of what the nurses or security guards had to say of it. For a very long moment she had been worried that he would deny her this, though she wasn't quite sure why. The topic of death was never a pleasant one, but it was the reality of life and something she'd accepted as a fact long ago. She had expected him to not be one for such morbid occasions and she would have, for the most part, been fine with handling the death of someone so close to her as Patricia on her own; Yuki had been the first, Wilhelm was definitely the worst and Patricia wouldn't be the last. Caligo wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if he'd ran from it and he was definitely running away from the hospital at this very moment, but as long as he came back that was all that mattered for now.

Caligo was already on her feet again when she heard the familiar groan of the Tardis as it slowly materialized in the room. She shut the door the very second she caught wind of the sound and was back at Patricia's bedside before the old woman woke with a slight start.

The old woman was terribly cranky when woken from a sound sleep apparently, fixing both Caligo and the Doctor with a mean looking stare. "What's all this noise on about? You two keep it down to a low rumble, else I'd have ya kicked out," she grumbled tiredly.

"Patricia, since you're such a wonderful lady and friend to the lieutenant here," the Doctor declared with just a touch of sarcasm in his voice, "we thought we'd take you on one last trip."

"If you feel up to it," Caligo added in shortly after. She didn't want to rush but Patricia certainly didn't have a lot of time to waste and neither did they if the knocking at the door was any indication.

Patricia mumbled something under her breath before hastily untangling herself from her oxygen tube and jabbing a finger at a long robe draped over Caligo's chair. "Get my coat for me sweet pea. Like hell I'm spending my last breath in this musty dumpster." Using the Doctor for a little, albeit grudging, support, the old woman slipped on her hospital slippers and shuffled into the Tardis willingly enough. "Running about the place will make me sick huh," she cackled as Caligo shut the Tardis doors behind them, "Sure showed them! Huh!" But then she finally stopped her gloating long enough to take a good look at the inside of the phone box she'd just walked into and suddenly really needed a seat. "M' stars," she whispered softly in awe. "Sweet pea, what do you make of a thing like this," she asked, hanging on to Caligo's arm as the lieutenant guided her over to the jump seat.

"The Tardis is an alien spaceship Patricia," she said, smiling a little at the old woman, "It's an amazing one too. That's what I make of it." Caligo carefully placed the snow globe in her lap and glanced up as the ship hummed at the complement.

"Tardis," the old woman almost hollered. "Tardis? What sorta name is that? Did you call it that sweet pea? Or stick man there? Hah! Call the old girl something nicer than that why don't ya?" Patricia turned and patted the nearest part of the ship fondly, her laugh coming out more and more hoarse by the minute. She gestured with her slightly crooked nose to the Doctor. "You're driving?"

His pride was taking a bit of a beating with all the strange accusations the old woman was making but the Doctor figured he could let it go just on this occasion. "Yes ma'am~ Over nine hundred years' worth of experience with the most complex time machine in the history of the universe! Please remain seated for the duration of transit, nearest exit is to the right here and the lieutenant here will be on call for all your in-flight needs." The Doctor couldn't help the cheeky grin that spread across his lips and winked at Caligo over by the stairs before setting course for their destination.

Patricia rolled her eyes at him for Caligo and wagged a finger, despite the Time Lord not paying the least bit attention. "Don't go wasting my time with all that mechanical mumbo jumbo sass. I don't have an awful lot of it left. Sweet pea, do me a favor and go give 'im a good swat for me."

Caligo smiled just the slightest bit at her as Patricia grumbled on quietly and joined the Doctor at the consul.

His frantic footsteps came to a stop next to her, hitting one final switch before the Tardis lurched into action and looked up. "Feeling anything," he asked quietly, too quiet for Patricia to hear and fixed her with a gaze that was somehow both teasing and genuinely worried for her. The loss of loved ones always hit humans hard, the Doctor knew, and it hit home for probably even the most battle hardened of their race. Right now, what worried him most was not only the emotional, but the physical pain that might be brought on by that awful inhibitor. He remembered the way she'd clawed at the table in the diner after the Kiss concert. Caligo kept her eyes down on the consul, her deep obsidian gaze hidden from his own.

"Enough," was all she said in response. In truth, Caligo felt her body alternating between numbness and a dull pain in the base of her skull as if there were a wound there she'd left unattended for an obscene amount of time. It came and went so frequently that now it was easy for her to somewhat ignore. She knew that once Patricia passed, so would this pain but that didn't make her any keener on the idea. Caligo lightly slapped the Doctor's shoulder with her right hand, hearing Patricia chuckle in the background and looked up to him. "London would be nice if you'd please, Doctor."

"London," the old woman scoffed, "What's so great about London? We live in London. Rather, what's left of it anyway." Patricia made no attempt to hide her discontent toward the city and held her eyes fast to Caligo. "I thought you said we were going on a trip sweet pea?"

The Doctor chided her and strolled around to the jump seat once the Tardis had come to a full stop. "That's something about humans I can't really seem to get around sometimes. You love the places and you hate them but it's not the places that are great really. It's more about the time and there was never a truer saying than timing is everything." He nudged Caligo toward Patricia to help her up and grabbed a couple of thick blankets along the way, ignoring that grandma glare the old woman seemed hell bent on setting him alight with. "London wasn't fantastic when the Earth was forming and all that. Bunch of molten rock, that's what it was and I'm not too keen on what it looks like now," he half grumbled as he opened the door for them. Outside those doors was London, one that was certainly more familiar to him than the one they'd just left and he'd certainly have to come back sometime for a proper visit. The Tardis was perched atop the roof of the many long since reconstructed buildings and had a fantastic view of the city and Big Ben if he did say so himself. "Welcome to the 51st century Patricia~"

"It's the future," Caligo said, carefully guiding her toward but not too close to the ledge of the building so she could better see what must've felt like a brand new world to Patricia, "Maybe not our future but Amelia's future, and the future of everyone else back in Pillar. And it's so much better. People are so much better." Her hands never let up their steadying grip on feeble shoulders as Patricia gasped in shock of a vehicle flying past the building and they stopped just at the ledge itself.

Carefully, knowing the lieutenant wouldn't dream of letting her fall, Patricia sat down on the ledge and stared out at the sun setting over the city. It was like fire, she thought, and it set the sky ablaze and made the buildings look as if they were made of bronze and gold. There was something new and old at the same time, right in front of her. Something she would never live to see without the Doctor, but made her glad all the same. "Bittersweet," she sighed softly as she took in the sight. Beside her, Caligo carefully draped a blanket over her shoulders before taking a seat. The younger woman's arm came to rest firmly around her shoulders and Patricia squeezed her hand, the only thing keeping her secure. "Thank you sweet pea," she crooned. Her voice broke slightly when the tears came and she just couldn't help herself. "And thank you, Doctor. For this an' looking after my little Cal…"

The Doctor shrugged a little and draped another blanket over Caligo's shoulders before sitting on the other side of Patricia. "Seems to me she can take care of herself just fine."

"But that doesn't mean she ought to always have to," the old woman barked back, smacking his arm.

"Absolutely right!" He carefully scooted closer and reached around to bring his hand to her other shoulder. "Think she needs a friend more than a babysitter though," he said and smiled at her. Patricia blinked, surprised, then confused and finally, she smiled back. Not sad or pitying or fake. She just smiled and it was soft and warm like the best kinds of smiles humans could give when they were happy.

"Smart man," Patricia murmured and turned her attention back to the city in front of them slowly being enveloped in darkness. "Nighttime was always m' favorite time," she said, starting to point out stars and constellations she thought she recognized still even under a foreign, future sky. "The dark," Patricia sighed, "'s vast and all-encompassing but filled – no, made of mystery and wonder. You'd never see the light without the dark. Never see the stars… Met m' first boyfriend back just after the last invasion ended. Just a girl, sweet pea. Even younger than you were when we first met. Oh, I musta been fifteen at the time an' stayed out a little too long past curfew. Had a row with my mum, not sure if you've had one of those yourselves but she was an awful nasty piece of work when she'd come up from a long day at the pumps. Took off from the house I did, and hid out in the fields just outside of the city. You know, before they put those big ugly walls up and all."

She talked about the fields of tall green grass that felt almost like pillows if you piled them up and a large, lone redwood growing in the middle of the field like it knew it didn't belong there but never gave a damn. That old woman was a young girl again as she recalled meeting the lonely foundry boy sneaking off from work because the other men teased and bullied him for his stutter and the constellations in the sky above them that night. She talked about her first kiss, her first wedding and her first day as a widower some twenty years ago. She talked until she grew weary and leaned solely against Caligo for support and when her words began to come out as slow, raspy fragments of sentences, she and the Doctor began to talk. Not just simple rambling or the heart stopping tales of adventures of times long past and yet to be. It was a conversation, calm and quiet and maybe with a few laughs here and there that went on through the night until all, even them sitting on the rooftop, fell silent.

It had surely been hours before that when Patricia had finally stopped breathing but remained coddled tenderly against the lieutenant's chest. The Doctor had known it too, perhaps had noticed it first but hell if that stopped them. They couldn't run from it forever though, and soon Caligo couldn't deny even to herself that the body in her arms was now as cold as ice.

She didn't have to ask him this time because it seemed that they'd been on the same train of thought for most of the day now. The Doctor didn't think she'd be able to get the words out either, honestly. He took them back to Pillar, to the endless fields of pillow grass and the giant redwood tree that stood there like some ancient guardian of this innocent wilderness to bury the woman there. Still standing defiant in the face of time was the carving of their initials into the bark of the redwood just at the base, Patricia Whitfield and Ethan Nelson.

Just below their names, Caligo knelt down to carve the date of birth, death and 'Together in heaven once more' into the bark with her fingers. The bark, fickle thing, bit back into her skin but it felt like nothing to her. Nothing felt like anything in this moment and it was so unnatural in her mind yet she simply couldn't bring herself to care. The Doctor tried to be supportive but it couldn't do either of them any good now. Caligo wasn't sure what she had expected to feel when the time finally came but she hadn't, for some reason, quite thought that she wouldn't feel anything at all. "I have to go back," she finally said after a time, simply standing there and staring at the freshly turned earth.

"To the hospital?"

"Yes. Someone needs to tell them. The Masons deserve to know as well." She sorely hoped that the Doctor didn't realize the underlying implications of this as well. It was true, Caligo did intend to go back to the hospital to put the staff's minds at ease and to explain to the last of her close friends what had happened to Patricia, but it certainly didn't look good. A Draugr and a man no one has ever seen in the city before disappears with an elderly woman on the verge of death only to return without her. She hoped that he didn't realize that, as she turned to walk back toward the city, she was essentially returning to a death sentence and at the same time she knew that the Doctor wasn't stupid. He would know. He probably already did, most likely even before the thought of the possibility had crossed her mind but he wouldn't be able to stop her from doing what she'd already set her mind to. _Even if this is how I die, let it be with some purpose. Even if I die I want this to be a good death. Something that was worth dying for. Something to tell me that I did the right thing._ "Please let me take a few days to sort things out here Doctor."

The Doctor knew already that she knew she wasn't fooling anyone but she was trying to anyway. He wouldn't – couldn't – give her the time because no one else would. Sometimes he wondered what it was that made humans think they could pull one over on him so easily but he could figure that one out later.

' _I hope you're taking good care of my sweet pea, Doctor.'_

He was going to do exactly that if that was the last thing he managed but he'd have to act now, and he had to be as quick as he was clever. "I'm coming back for you," he told her as if it were an undeniable, unchangeable law of reality itself. The Doctor didn't waste a second before running back to the Tardis to set the coordinates.


	12. Chapter 12

OKAY. Suffice to say this took way longer than I expected but I still, for many reasons, can't say I'm entirely happy with this chapter. Spent a lot of time at probably stupid hours of the morning/night trying to fix it but honestly I'll never get through this if I don't come back to it. Who knows, maybe that's how I'll manage to fix this. It'll just take time...

It's been a hell of a week honestly. Had to say goodbye to a wonderful and very much loved furry family member. Also pretty sure he's haunting the house now so there's that. No sleep, thanks. I'm good.

Anyway, hoping to get back on schedule even with the move and potentially a second D&D group I'm joining. We shall see! But thank you very much to my Beta readers and readership for, well, reading!

Disclaimer on Doctor Who. Damn.

* * *

 _If he was going to do this, he had to start at the source. The Doctor was more than a little suspicious when he saw both drones waiting in the consul room for him yet not a single word had been uttered from the blue one until the Tardis had materialized within a nearly dead silent room that held an oppressive air and bright sterile white lighting. It was filled to the brim with computer servers, metal shelves with dusty manila folders ready to burst with near ancient papers._

" _Doctor. Two Draugr units have been detected within the area and are well aware of your presence."_

" _Good," he almost growled. His sonic in hand, the first thing the Doctor did was calibrate a signal to force the pair he found waiting for him to completely ignore his existence and the existence of the two drones and the Tardis. In fact, if anyone but him came back into the room they'd delay them. The next step was a bit trickier but nothing his sonic couldn't handle. In 15 minutes time, files from the once secure server room were streaming all through Pillar to every device connected to its grid, and he was willing to bet that there were still a lot of people with the technology to access an entire universe of new information, even with things in this current state. "Wil."_

" _The lieutenant is being transported to Central Command under Draugr custody. She is alive and well for the time being Doctor."_

" _And it's gonna stay that way."_

Caligo didn't look back from the city gates once, not even when she heard the groan of the Tardis quickly replaced by silence. The Doctor said he would come back, but what did that mean honestly? Suddenly she was quietly berating herself for not thinking of a better choice of words. If the Doctor did indeed come back in a few days as she had requested… _Unfortunately, that isn't going to be my problem soon_ , she thought.

Things had gone differently than she thought they would, however. Rather than simply being shot on sight at the gate, the waiting guard units simply cuffed her and had taken her to Central Command. Whether that was good or bad was a hard thing to discern, however, because she rightly couldn't be sure. She also couldn't be quite sure that something wasn't off about the team that had taken her into Central to begin with but she didn't have the luxury of pondering that once the hanger doors to the vehicle depot closed. It wasn't as if she were looking for a way to escape, not intentionally at least. After all, she had come back to set the record straight.

"You'll see Commandant Brahms now, lieutenant," the taller Draugr told her.

"Yes ma'am," she answered, stoic as she could manage. Their lift came to a halt at the lab, presumably because that's where the Commandant was waiting but when they entered it seemed more as if they'd beaten him there. A team of workers were going about their business, only one or two of them stopping to glance at Caligo as she entered the room. On the far right side of the room were at least a dozen beds, at least seven of them currently occupied by presumably the newest series of Draugr. _Perhaps the first in two decades_ , she thought. Caligo watched as two of the researchers took vitals of a brunet male and a stout looking woman with orange hair. An unwelcomed knot formed in her stomach as another individual was wheeled out to one of the unoccupied beds.

This area, the lieutenant was sure of it, had never been visited by her before and yet there was an odd familiarity to it. One that made that knot in her belly tighten to the point of causing a twinge of pain and her heart began to race. Caligo felt the telltale twitch in her left eye muscle and the dull throb at the base of her skull turned into a blaze that left her feeling as if molten metal were being pressed deep into her flesh. She hadn't even realized she'd begun to strain against her bindings until one of the Draugr stilled her with a firm hand wrapped around the back of her neck.

"Some things don't change, do they, lieutenant?" A tall man who looked to be in his late fifties wearing a stark white dress uniform reminiscent of a twentieth century American Navy general Caligo once seen in a book entered the room accompanied by two armed guards. His salt and pepper hair was cut short and neat to the point where it looked as if all he had on his head was peach fuzz. Only one notable thing stood out on the uniform that he wore and it wasn't any medals, ribbons or patches for he had none of those, but a braided silver cord looped over his left shoulder with a polished black skull attached to it.

"Commandant Brahms," Caligo acknowledged, although she hadn't meant for her voice to come out so shakily. "I don't understand sir." For the commandant to take the time to interrogate her himself, she honestly didn't.

Brahms looked at her with something almost akin to pity. Almost. "No, I'm sure that you don't. Regardless, you've been brought here for a reason and I'm sure you know what the reason is if you bothered to come back. So tell me."

"I returned to inform whatever next of kin Patricia Nelson had that she has passed." Commandant Brahms didn't speak, but continued to stare at her as if he were expecting more of an answer than that. _Pity that he should be disappointed again_. Caligo felt her eye twitch of its own accord once more at the trace of bitterness that found its way into her thoughts and quickly averted her gaze elsewhere.

"The hospital staff mentioned a strange wheezing sound like a machine, and yet much like a living being, the moment Mrs. Nelson disappeared from her room," the Commandant casually mentioned. He was leading her on, fishing for very specific information and they both knew it. "Your signal has been disappearing for short periods recently and suddenly you go from Blackridge to Pillar in mere minutes with no record of a travel path."

"I find no record of this, sir," she answered coldly. Caligo was suddenly feeling quite… Belligerent. Uncooperative. Spiteful. Bitter. **Rebellious**. She couldn't help the way her body jerked at the streak of pain that coursed through it, her inhibitor fighting against such thoughts and, it seemed, losing the battle.

"A man came with you to see her. Who was he."

"This unit finds no record of another individual, sir." Another unpleasant surge of what now felt like pure electricity streaking through her spine. Caligo's jaw clenched tightly when the sensation continued to build to the point where she was sure she could feel tooth and bone beginning to give under the pressure she was putting on them.

Brahms frowned at her. It was blatantly obvious that she was withholding information but he couldn't figure for the life of him why she wouldn't give it up. Hell, it was a wonder to him how it was she would still put up a fight after so many years. "They're saying that you murdered her."

"They are wrong," Caligo bit out through clenched teeth. Still, the pain wouldn't subside even a little and it was beginning to become harder to endure as the seconds ticked past. "The doctors diagnosed it as cellular degeneration. She had less than a few hours. I took her out of the city and when she passed I buried her."

"Where is she buried."

The minutes passed in silence and the pain only grew until at last she growled out, "I will not tell!"

"You'll tell me where you buried Patricia Nelson, lieutenant. That is a direct order-"

"Your orders be damned," Caligo yelled, bringing a chilling silence over everyone in the room, and finally dropped to her knees. She couldn't consciously feel any part of her body and yet it felt like she was on fire. Every cell, every atom, even her mind felt as if she were being consumed by a raging inferno and yet she was still unbearably alive in spite of it.

The Draugr on either side of her instantly drew their weapons from their holsters and pointed the barrels to both sides of Caligo's skull when Brahms bid them to stay their hands a moment longer. "I'll find out anyway, you know. Dead or alive. All the data will still be there but there are so many reasons why it would be better for everyone that you just give up. Who was the man you were with in the hospital before Mrs. Nelson disappeared?"

"The Doctor, that's who!"

There was a novel's worth of curses that ran through her mind when she heard the damned word 'Doctor' until she suddenly came to realize two important, terrifying things. First, that it was not her who had spoken. Second, she recognized the voice that had and that could only mean her fear had become reality. Caligo chanced a glance up and lo and behold, there stood the Doctor in the doorway of the lab with at least three guns pointed at him and without her to stand in the way of them.

Commandant Brahms didn't seem the least bit alarmed, but perhaps pleased that the Doctor had revealed himself so willingly. With frightening calmness, he replied, "Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor," the Time Lord answered, but without any sort of mirth in his words as there usually was. The sight that he beheld, while he wasn't expecting the most pleasant of things, fueled the fire burning within his hearts and deepened the chasm of regret hidden there as well. "Commandant Brahms, was it? Right. Doesn't really matter one way or another except that you're the one in charge here, aren't you?" The Doctor strolled into the lab without a care, as if there weren't three energy pistols with top marksmen on the other end of them, their sights on his head.

Brahms still didn't look at all surprised or bothered by the Doctor's sudden intrusion. Hours had passed since the hospital incident and he felt quite content to dispose of a foolish man who would simply walk into the heart of a hostile military base. "You're correct. So I must ask exactly what business you have here, Doctor."

"Because," the Doctor announced loudly as he took a slow, deliberate lap around the room and pretended to scrutinize everything in sight, "My companion here, Cal, isn't as smart as I thought she'd be if she somehow got to thinking that I wouldn't know what was going to happen to her the moment she set foot inside the city again." The Doctor ended his walk around the lab right in front of Brahms, still lacking any sort of mirth and perhaps looking even more cross than when he'd first entered. "She's also absolutely mad if she thought that I'd just let it go knowing that. Patricia Nelson is in fact dead, Commandant, but she wasn't murdered. You know what I think?"

"I think that you know where her body is, Doctor, and I know that you won't give up the location any sooner than my Draugr will," Brahms answered coldly.

The Doctor went on, half ignoring Brahms' words and his own hardly more than a whisper. Brahms was the only one who really needed to hear this. "I think you don't care that someone's dead. Nor do I think you really care about the why or who or how and I think that's because you already know."

"Cellular degeneration can't be fixed by some fairy dust and divine miracles, Doctor. I'm sure you know that or else perhaps you might've found some sort of cure for Mrs. Nelson's condition." Brahms gave a dark smirk when the Doctor didn't fire back at him with some clever remark. "You're right in part that the only thing that matters to me at this very moment is repossessing her body. It's a complicated thing and I don't have time to waste explaining my actions to someone who hasn't been here for perhaps the better part of two hundred years, going on three." His smirk only grew when he noted the way the Doctor's eyes narrowed at him. "Don't look so surprised, Doctor. I know who you are, or at least I know the legends. The stories. I know a lot of things about you but I can't bring myself to believe that even half the things in UNIT's files of you are true." The Time Lord's anger was palpable as Brahms continued to speak without a care. "This isn't your Earth anymore and the human race? Well, they're all but gone now Doctor. At least here, anyway. You've no jurisdiction here. You never did and I will honestly say I have no qualms of simply shooting you now and being done with you. But you see this Draugr here?"

Brahms surely gestured to Caligo but she couldn't bear to open her eyes. The air felt like a million billion needles when it blew across her skin. Their voices rang like chimes in her ears, disorienting and rattling her inside and out. Above all, she could feel their gazes drilling holes into her body from where they stood and swore that anger radiated from the Doctor in actual waves of heat. _Leave. Please leave. They really will shoot you. Brahms is incapable of caring about your life!_

Brahms observed the Doctor carefully as he took in the sight of his kneeling companion and realized that he didn't grasp the full severity of the situation. "Hardly anything save for true obedience to the chain of command is tolerated from a Draugr, and this one is anything but. As much as she would try to hide it, if you looked into her eyes you'd see the pain she endures for her refusal to obey orders. Know this, Doctor. All she had to do to avoid this was tell me who you were and where Mrs. Nelson was buried but she refused. She meant to conceal you from us and now you've made her efforts all for naught by being here."

"And I'm not leaving here without her," the Doctor shot back, equally defiant. His stare bored into Brahms' eyes as the wheels in his head turned violently, forming a plan with the best and worst possible outcomes. Oddly enough that was also when he noticed the black skull against silver cord on the Commandant's shoulder and suddenly things made a world of sense. "You're a Draugr too, aren't you Brahms?" The Doctor's anger subsided slightly and turned to excitement at this crucial piece of the puzzle when Brahms didn't answer him, but he really didn't need to. "I get it. Can't break off from orders, can you? Why? Because you're programmed that way so to speak. Same as Cal I'm willing to bet."

"My job is far from easy," Brahms answered with just a hint of irritation now, "But I must continue to perform as if it were."

"Yeah, except who told you to? That you can't ever deviate from whatever orders they've drilled into your brain? Who told you that the Earth was going to be at war with the rest of the universe forever?" The Doctor didn't expect him to answer because he didn't expect him to know. Two hundred years going on three and the Draugr have existed for the better part of it, ready to fight a war that might never come in their lifetime so they would always need to make more, prolonging the suffering. "All this," he announced loudly, waving his hands toward the Draugr, the computers, the individuals still laying in their beds, "stops today."

Brahms gave the order to shoot in a heartbeat, yet none of the Draugr present could respond. He looked at each of them and found them to be squeezing the triggers of their weapons but not a single one would budge. The Doctor, source of all his problems at the moment was grinning smugly in his direction.

"You thought I didn't think of that? Thought UNIT would've given me more credit than that! Not bad Wil~"

The steel blue drone wandered into the room, Yuki right behind him and quickly moving to apprehend their weapons. The hot rod red mechanic drone was far stronger than Brahms' guard and crushed the barrels of their energy pistols before moving on. "Doctor," Wilhelm spoke as the drone made his way over to him, "Swift action is required. Draugr units have already summoned reinforcements."

"If they wanna join the party who am I to stop 'em," the Time Lord chuckled and quickly sprinted to the computer at the far end of the room per Wilhelm's suggestion and began to type away furiously at the keys. In two minutes flat, just as they heard the lift arrive, the Doctor had permanently shut down the Draugr signal dispatch. He left their hive mind untouched however; They didn't need the extra shock on top of the near bombshell that was about to hit them. To his left he saw Caligo slump to the ground, probably both relieved and exhausted. He knelt down next to her and carefully pushed the hair from her eyes. "Cal?"

Her entire body was shaking and she was breathing hard, but soon enough Caligo's eyes opened and she faintly smiled up at him. "Never been so glad to see you Doctor," she sighed. His hands were cool against her skin and although the mere brush of his fingertips over her aching skin caused her to flinch, she wouldn't trade the feeling for anything else on this Earth. The relief was short lived however as a dozen or more very confused – and some very angry – individuals stumbled into the room with a slew of questions. The situation was about to literally explode with the sheer number of Draugr present in the room. Caligo didn't miss a beat when the Draugr that had her gun pointed at her skull minutes earlier looked up, eyes wide and livid as she brandished the broken weapon. The offending Draugr didn't see Caligo coming, legs locking her arm in place and throwing her down to the ground a moment later. "Doctor, stay down!"

Commandant Brahms was up on his feet once the disorienting feeling had left him and glanced at his guards. One looked absolutely terrified of him and the other was in the process of drawing his combat knife to shove into his throat. Brahms beat him to the punch, stole his weapon and threw the man to the ground before staking him in the chest. Well aware of what was happening, he drew the now slain mans' firearm, took aim at the group stumbling their way out of the lift and opened fire.

The Commandant's erratic aim scattered those who were confused and scared but it was the ones who looked absolutely furious were ready for it and the fight broke out instantly. Caligo could feel the blood rushing through her veins, drowning out the sounds of utter chaos as she pushed herself up to her feet. The calls from the Doctor went unheard and she'd all but forgotten about the restraints holding her arms behind her back because neither of those things mattered. If they all kept fighting, eventually someone would die and damn if that someone ended up being the Doctor. "Not after all that's happened today," she roared, leaping into the fray.

The Doctor watched as Caligo leapt into the fight, still partially restrained and attempting to knock down anyone who threw a punch or went for a gun. A few of the other Draugr, shaken as they seemed, slowly got to their feet again and restrained several of their enraged comrades. Within minutes, the only few who remained were Brahms, a screeching brunette woman and Caligo. In the midst of the chaos the Doctor didn't see it, but Caligo's hands were in front of her now as she tripped Brahms and caught him by the neck with the length of her restraints. Yuki grabbed hold of the woman, lifting her at least a foot off the floor with his large clamp – like hands secured firmly around her arms and torso.

"Give it up Commandant," Caligo growled, fingers gripping the back of his skull and pressing his head forward so that the length of steel joining her restraints barred his throat. She didn't let up until he was gasping for air and finally placed his hands on the ground.

"Look what you've done," Brahms rasped angrily, turning just barely enough to glare hatefully at the Doctor, "What'll you do now with all these violent freaks! Murderers! Thieves! Despicable, heartless killers!"

"Fuck you Brahms," the still flailing brunette shrieked, tears running down her cheeks and pinning the commandant with an equally hateful gaze, "You're one of us too! You could **bathe** in the blood shed by your sins!"

"I made my way without killing!" Brahms' breath came out in pitiful rasps, the color of his skin darkening and red lines beginning to make their appearance in his eyes. "You're not even human," he spat out through gritted teeth, "Just a bunch of DNA Frankensteins…!"

Caligo's grip tightened on his skull, driving the bindings joining her wrists tighter against his throat. Perhaps it was the blood rushing through her veins or the adrenaline still making her heart pound violently in her chest but her ears were full of bells. The din of over two dozen individuals' thoughts, the number steadily rising, rang through her mind, a cacophony of wailing, cries for vengeance and retribution and weeping for the violence and pain to come to an end. What should she do? What did she want from all of this? It could all end in just a second after all. It only took just a minute or two, and he would have no air left to breathe. She could crush his skull with her prosthetic hand. If she put just a fraction more of her weight down on the foot pressed against his bent spine it would snap like a dry, old twig.

"Cal," the Doctor called over the sound of frantically muttering individuals. The room was practically silent save for the few discontented sounds the scientists and a few Draugr made but he knew just from the mad look in their eyes that they were all screaming on the inside. "Cal, you kill him and you'll be just as bad."

"I already am Doctor," she yelled back, eyes still boring madly into the back of Brahms' skull, "He's right. There's blood on my hands already so what's one more?"

"Cuz what good would killing him do you? Nothing. You'll feel like it was for the best at first but then it'll come back. Every single night, it'll come back and haunt you until the end of your days and if I have a say in it, you'll live an awfully long life." It wasn't a threat, but it was certainly a promise and that promise could be as good or as bad as she wanted it to be. "This is the first choice you've got as a free woman. As a human being. **You** get to choose what you do! Not Brahms, not me, not anyone else in this room except for **you**." The Doctor kept his distance, trying to keep as much faith as Patricia had in her and hoped like hell he wasn't wrong about the lieutenant. _Your move, Cal._

One more. One more was all Brahms would be on a long list of 'one more's over the years of her life. Caligo had made all sorts of wrong choices that ended up with more 'one more's than just once and this time, she couldn't place the blame on Brahms. She didn't need the Doctor to tell her what 'one more' was. She already knew. "Just one more," she hissed softly and bent low to whisper in Brahms' ear. "Just remember that you put those 'one more's on us but they will always, always be **yours**." Caligo swiftly let go of his head and let the commandant drop to the ground, allowing him to catch his breath. The room erupted into a violent resound of enraged and relieved shouts.

The Doctor was beyond relieved when she dropped the man and quickly ran over to embrace her, knowing his faith in her, his gamble, hadn't been for naught. But Caligo, her entire body, was shaking and his presence seemed to do nothing for her. He quickly freed her from her restraints while the other slightly more sensible Draugr did their best to keep their disgruntled counterparts from causing trouble while everyone calmed down a bit. The injured received medical attention, Yuki and Wilhelm were busy starting various repairs and those present were more than happy to assist the Doctor in shutting down any of the equipment pertaining to the creation of future Draugr series.

"Funny thing, this mess of a lab," one of the scientists – a plain old human male with no spinal implant – had told him, "All these people that come out from here were made to solve the limited population problem after the wars. Didn't want inbreeding to become a thing but I guess even good intentions have their consequences." One of the greatest problems with a severely reduced population was a loss of a large chunk of the human gene pool. The dead can't reproduce so whatever genetics they had, good or bad, was lost altogether. Eventually, the Earth population of humans would've died off even without any more wars or invasions. "You know the only difference between the Draugr and a lot of people created by this process is their lifespan; gotten better over the years but most if not all of them only have maybe thirty years at best. That's it. If it weren't for that, you'd never know me and them were born of the same pod."

"The Draugr really got the short end of the stick, drawing attention away from the artificially created population by taking the bodies of the dead and dying to save their DNA to combat the sudden lack of genetic diversity and short lifespan. When they make new people, sometimes it's like those old people come back, but not really. Things like that really rattle people," the Doctor said as he handed Caligo a mug of hot chocolate. This place was apparently called the Mess Hall and mess was definitely the right word. He remembered a time when humans actually knew a thing or two about hot chocolate but that was now literally centuries ago.

 _I'm made up of dead bodies_. The thought made Caligo cringe a little but she took the offered mug and gave him little more than a nod in return. "When people get angry, they lash out," she murmured softly after a while. "They hated me for what I represented to them, not because of who I am then?" Not that it made her feel any better about anything that had happened over the years. Not really.

The Doctor shrugged. "Part of it at least." The answer to questions like that was never as simple as yes or no but it explained some things; like the police woman from the diner earlier in the month and Patricia and Amelia for starters. In the Mess Hall, the Doctor watched small groups of lone Draugr and the occasional soldier sitting together and talking quietly. They were hesitantly getting to know one another; some were getting to know who they really were. Right now, all they had was each other and they had to start somewhere.

"They made me with a machine," Caligo spoke softly before turning to him, "I guess I'm not human after all then."

"Human DNA, human body, human emotions. Granted you've got a mutation or two but at the heart of it you're as human as you want to be Cal." He smiled at her from behind the rim of his mug and took a small sip. Bugger. It was still hot as all hell. "Did I tell you? Humans are probably my favorite race~ Of course your strongest competitors have to be the Dalphinians on the planet Epsilon Four. Mischievous little fellows who communicate primarily through taste, meaning they lick absolutely everything and have all manner of taste receptors on the soft parts of their bodies. Oh. And cat nuns."

Caligo couldn't help chuckling as he went on rambling. She never realized how relaxing it could be to just sit there and let him talk until she grew weary. "Really? A species who evolved an extreme oral fixation is the competition for the top of your list?"

The Doctor pouted at her a little. "Oi. No one's going around judging you for **not** tasting everything you come across. Well, not that you know of anyway."

Caligo rolled her eyes and they fell back into that companionable silence that had seemed to more often than not form between them on their down time from jumping from one alien planet to another. The time passed slowly but soon, a question she had certainly thought would be better saved for a later day burned at the very front of her mind. "Doctor," she started hesitantly, "Why'd you do it? Why'd you let me decide if I'd kill Brahms or not instead of just stopping me? You could've. I know you could've."

"Because you could've already done it if you'd had your mind set on it," he told her in a very matter of fact tone. "You could've killed Durellis when you punched your way out of that stasis unit. Concussed the hell out of him, yes, but he's alive. Could've turned those sport hunters into wall mounted trophies before I made it back to you. You went and brought an old woman you probably barely knew to see the bright and bold future of the human race and walked back into this city just to tell Amelia, a girl you definitely don't know, she died happy." The Doctor smiled knowingly at his stunned companion. "You could've, but you didn't, and all those things you did because you wanted to. Not because someone told you to. I'm willing to bet that's a part of who you are."

There was no comprehending how the Doctor could have so much faith that there was something good in her. She couldn't understand it herself but then again, what was there to say that he wasn't right? He'd proved her wrong before. Caligo stared down at the mug in her hands, uncertain. "I don't think I know what kind of person I really am."

Carefully, the Doctor set his mug down behind him on the table and hopped to his feet, coming to stand just in front of her. One hand was shoved deep into his pocket while he held the other out to her and grinned. "Why don't we find out then~?"

"What about Pillar? And Central? And Blackridge," she stammered, clearly startled.

"Chain of command nonsense is still in place and we can pop back once a month for a peek. Blackridge can still be your home if you like." He tried to hide the disappointment at the thought. It was one thing to come back for a visit, but a part time companion? The Doctor was starting to think even travelling with him was more of a job to her than an adventure.

Blackridge as her home. That was a bit farfetched, even for Caligo. But then again, the Doctor didn't know how or why she'd ended up there in the first place. "Patricia once told Wil and I that home is where the heart is. I think I don't know where my heart is any more than I know who I am. So I guess that means I ought to go out and look for that too," she concluded, and firmly took the Doctor's hand in her own.


	13. Chapter 13

Alright all! I know it's been a hell of a long time and honestly that's because I hit a road block in the upcoming chapters but I swear I'm working on it. Trying not to rush things though. But thanks for keeping up even though I've been inactive so here you go!

Disclaimer on Doctor Who

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When Caligo first stepped back onto the Tardis, she hadn't expected anything to change. Rather, she didn't expect to be treated differently than before or feel like she was. It started when the Tardis doors shut behind her. All was quiet save for the Doctor talking about something she might've been half listening to and the hum of the ship herself. When she had entered her room, she plopped her belongings down on the end of the bed and had to take a moment to collect herself. Only hours before she had finally become truly aware of all the voices and thoughts of almost a hundred other individuals in her mind, chattering away like noisy birds as if she weren't there. Now, inside the Tardis, all of that was gone save for very distant hums of almost coherent thoughts. Her thoughts independent of the Draugr network bounced around in the dark, emptiness of her mind while those faint echoes took no notice. There was still Wilhelm and Yuki but for the first time, Caligo came to realize how faint their presence felt. More coherent than the fragmented smattering of memories from the dead but still not the same as those of living, breathing Draugr. _People_ , she reminded herself, even though it felt awkward to reference themselves as such. It took a little bit of time but eventually she concluded that perhaps the current state of things wasn't necessarily bad and it was just after that thought that she became aware of the room.

The walls were still white and the furniture was still rather basic, but the sheets were now a light green and looked soft and puffy like a cloud. There was an empty bookshelf for her to store the few books and research logs she brought from Blackridge, a wooden desk roughly a meter long with a comfy looking chair, a rack for her tools and two extra chairs beside her bed. Wilhelm and Yuki promptly parked themselves each in a chair of their own as she had suspected that was what they were there for. Her closet even had a few extra hangers, although she didn't have much else to put in there and there were several replicates of her usual clothes; seven pairs of olive green blouses with the sleeves rolled up and buttoned, two brown leather aviator jackets, seven pairs of jeans, undergarments stored in her dresser and four pairs of black boots, all for different types of basic Earth weather.

She couldn't help feeling awkward for the fact that the ship had taken it upon herself to do all of this and quietly murmured a thank you, though she wasn't sure if the Tardis would hear it or not. Caligo put what few belongings she took with her away in their proper places and took a nice hot shower before settling in for the night. She honestly didn't remember dreaming or even the fact that she had fallen asleep, at least not until she woke some time later. Caligo certainly hadn't been expecting the Doctor to not be in the consul room for once but rather in a kitchen of sorts. She wouldn't call it an outright kitchen because she didn't fully believe that all the appliances present in the room were entirely for cooking or storing food items.

Caligo looked very confused when the Doctor offered her a full English breakfast and a cup of tea or milk if that was what she liked. He quickly got the impression that the scene of Wilhelm and Caligo having breakfast together when she was trapped in the stasis unit was more fantasy than memory and wondered if she'd ever had a proper meal with an individual in her life. Judging by the data that he'd looked at from the research lab in Central though, he estimated that the former lieutenant hadn't been alive for a little more than seventeen years at best yet she certainly didn't look like a teenager. Perhaps in her late twenties to early thirties if he had to guess. The cellular degeneration would be something he would have to watch out for, and sooner than he'd like to admit. He hadn't thought about it when he'd brought her back onboard the Tardis but now that the thought was there, it wouldn't leave him; a life full of running into and from danger would most likely only cause the cellular degeneration to speed up. If she was afflicted by it – and he was almost certain that she was – She shouldn't be here with him, gallivanting across the cosmos. Life back on Earth would be boring but she'd be safe. She'd be alive and if she took care of herself, she'd live to a fairly old age; though nowhere near as old as Patricia. _Thirty years at best according to the researcher… Let's see if I can't do better._

"Doctor," she called hesitantly from across the table. All the Time Lord seemed to do over the last fifteen or so minutes was stare at her from over his cup. It was strange, unnerving and last time she checked, rude. The Doctor might have a penchant for being rude but that didn't mean she had to like it. "Doctor!"

"Yeah? Right here, no need to shout."

"Are you sure? Because you ignored me the first time." Caligo scowled at him when he started to say something about how she wasn't enunciating enough for him to understand her and that alone quickly shut him up. In the back of her mind, she wondered if her expressions gave off different signals than they had before. Stupid question, of course they would if she didn't have many to begin with before today. Right now, Caligo had more important things to focus on than what her face must've looked like at that moment. "What's going on? You're acting strange. All of you."

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow at her. "All of us?"

"Yes! First you ask if I'm coming with you again, then shoo me off to bed once I get back onto the Tardis. Then I go into my room and see that she's redecorated it for me, which I'm not complaining about because it's weird but it's pleasant actually, and now you've been staring at me for about fifteen minutes now with this look like," she sputtered, running out of breath toward the end of the short ramble. Caligo saw the way he frowned and she knew that he was worried about what she would say next. Hell, she was worried about what she was going to say next but she sucked it up and said it anyway. "You're looking at me like you did when we went to see Patricia in the hospital. Like you think I don't have a lot of time left and I want to know why because if you haven't noticed already, I kind of like having some input about what becomes of me."

Caligo's frown had softened, probably without her noticing, and the worry showed through the irritation. It was probably just as strange to the Doctor as it would've been to her if she could see herself right now. He was back to being on top of things, back to knowing what his companion was thinking before she probably did and the young woman didn't even realize more than just her eyes were an open book now. The Doctor could feel the corners of his lips turning up into a grin before he could stop it and laughed.

"Hey!" Caligo picked a bean up with her fork and flung it at him in frustration. She almost didn't realize that it was her who squealed when he threw a tiny bit of toast back in turn but to hell with that if he was going to keep throwing buttered bread at her. The fun ended when the Doctor was hiding behind his chair, the bean from earlier stuck to his cheek and Caligo finally gave him some leeway. She found herself laughing just a little and that her laugh sounded strange to her. It was some sort of cackle, but not as sinister as it should be and sometimes when she laughed a little too hard she would start to snort. She didn't like it but perhaps she just needed time for the sound to grown on her.

The Doctor finally got up from behind his chair and sat down again, laughing a little himself when he saw the smile on her face. Caligo was almost curled sideways in her chair, trying hard not to laugh as he picked the bean off his face and cleaned the rest of himself off with a napkin. _Happy_ , he thought, _She's happy right now._ He waited for her laughter to dissipate to avoid any more food flying – that had honestly escalated quicker than he thought it would – and looked at her dark eyes. "I just want you to be okay," he said, waiting for her to work through the confusion and realize that he was finally answering her question. Sort of.

Caligo quickly glanced away, still smiling just a little though the mirth was gone from it. _Hollow_. The word came unbidden from the darkest corner of her mind, whisking away the last remnants of that fleeting happiness and it felt like her but it didn't feel okay. "I will be. Someday, right?" She got to her feet and walked over to his side, gently nudging him with her elbow. "Couldn't stop running around when I actually had a job to do on your ship and now that I've got nothing planned, you just wanna lounge? I'm starting to wonder if **you're** okay, Doc."

"Guess I was right about you being cheeky!" The Doctor finished his tea and got up. "Fine then, if an adventure's what you're after then you'll get it~"

"Doctor," Caligo called, chasing after him as he strolled back to the consul room, "What about the dishes? Can't leave that lying there.'

"Don't worry about that. Trust me. Again, he thought about Wilhelm's warning to her about trusting him. He still had his back to her but he could hear her breathing change just a little.

"I do," she finally said after what felt like ages when they finally got back to the consul room. Caligo hadn't forgotten what happened in her 'dream' in the stasis unit but part of her still couldn't figure whether that was Durellis' device affecting her or if Wilhelm's AI actually thought that. The AI himself certainly didn't think too highly of the Doctor, but you didn't necessarily have to like someone to trust them, not really. Most Draugr were living proof of that. However, the Doctor was a likeable man and so far, there was no reason not to trust him, but things always happened. _I guess it would've been more appropriate to say "We'll see"_ , she thought. But it wasn't a lie at least. _He just didn't ask how much._ The answer must've been satisfactory enough because he was already moving and talking again like this was normal.

"Well, do you trust me enough to pull you out of trouble if we happened to be running into any?"

"Doctor, I told you. Just because Wilhelm and I used to," she hesitated briefly. "I guess we still sort of share a consciousness for lack of a better term, but that doesn't mean I don't have my own independent thoughts. I'm not the one who made him lie to you back on that human colony with a disturbing taste for chrome." Caligo had to think about his question a little more. "Besides, it's a little late to be asking that, don't you think? You already have," she said, that barely there smile making an appearance as she circled the consul to inspect the various levers and buttons on it.

It was like she'd regenerated and there was an entirely different person standing there in front of him, wearing the lieutenant's skin, using her body and talking with her voice but when he thought about it, **this** was the lieutenant. He could just imagine her as she had been prior to a day or so ago, almost sure that she would've reacted similarly to the changes the Tardis made to her room and breakfast but far calmer than the brief food fight they'd had. The Doctor mentally stored this away as part of a growing list of his companion's developing personality traits and went on to set the coordinates to their latest destination. "Been thinking about how you admire craftsmanship," he said, waiting for her to circle back around to him again and put his hand down on a lever. "The Daramaxians of Creta Five are expert craftsmen and artisans in just about everything imaginable. Art, textiles, food, drink, carpentry, architecture, even engineering with enough time~" He flipped the lever up, keeping an eye on her in case she lost her balance this time.

It was Caligo's turn to cock an eyebrow at him, in part for possibly attempting to rock her balance and what he might be insinuating about these particular aliens. "Meeting my betters am I? Sounds interesting." The Tardis rocked to a stop a moment later and she strode out after him, taking notice for the first time how much faster he seemed to walk compared to her. _It's because he's taller, that's all._

The Doctor took a quick look around the area where they'd landed and came to the conclusion that it was an area akin to a town square surrounded by a half dome of intricately twined branches of foliage, still attached to what looked like overgrown shrubbery as opposed to trees. Natural architecture. "What do you think of this?"

"The topiary," she asked, looking in the complete opposite direction of him. Caligo missed the Doctor's eyebrows practically shoot up into his messy hair, too preoccupied with a little red flower growing along the border of the dome. "You don't see things like this on Earth, that's for sure. Well, not anymore at least."

If Caligo was going to find the foliage so much more interesting than his presence, then perhaps he'd just have to find something to entertain himself with. The Doctor made his way further out into the square and examined the rest of the nature based architecture. Wait. Basically everything here was formed from naturally occurring elements, hardly changed from their original state which meant that this was essentially the nature version of the human Renaissance which meant he'd missed his mark by almost seven thousand years. "Oh boy," he murmured.

"So can we go and look around?"

The Doctor turned to see Caligo just catching up to him and silently debated shuffling back to the Tardis with her to try again for the correct era, but what harm could come of this era? The Daramaxians were a relatively peaceful race and most problems were solved by following strict and carefully laid out rules of equivalent exchange. "Well, we could always- What," he asked when he saw her eyes widen. The Doctor followed her line of sight which landed on one of many Daramaxians going about their daily business.

Long, spindly creatures that looked comparable to praying mantises on Earth, though lacking the compound eyes and pincer like jaws and came in colors ranging from dark green to greenish brown. This particular region was warm, a little humid and relatively shielded from the rays of the red sun high above them by the canopy of large shrubbery like trees, most of the inhabitants dark in color. Each individual had six legs and along their torsos were two sets of arms, the ones just below the shoulders were smaller and had three long needle like fingers, mostly used for fine detailing work of various sorts. The main pair just above those each had a set of three spindly fingers as well and were larger although they had fewer joints than the smaller pair. Their heads were slightly elongated similar to a dog, the eyes dark black spheres of obsidian and a fleshy, dome shaped mouth that concealed several needle like teeth.

The Daramaxians were probably one of the species that were the furthest thing from humanoid and the Doctor assumed – nearly panicked – for a moment that Caligo might be too frightened or disturbed by their appearance to want to stay. He glanced back at her, doing his best to hide the concern of what exactly her expression meant. "Not scared, are you," he asked, trying and succeeding at sounding as if he were taunting her.

The surprised look immediately fell from her face and turned into one of borderline disinterest. "I was nearly killed by what was probably a particle of the left butt cheek of a living ocean, Doctor. I think I can handle a thirteen-foot insect alien," she snorted. Ignoring the stare the Doctor was giving her, Caligo took another look at the alien as it stood beside on of the many buildings in the area. "Although I think it only comes to about seven feet in height, honestly." Seven feet or thirteen, it was still bigger than her but if there was one thing Caligo still firmly believed in after all these years was that the bigger something was, the harder it hit the ground. Not that she planned on getting into a tussle with it.

"Anyway," the Doctor murmured, trying to draw away the awkwardness of her words, "They got smaller over the centuries but other than that they didn't change much. Large hands start the framework, small hands do the fine detailing and one of the things they've been renowned for over the ages is their jewel crafting! Some of the most fascinating and valuable geologic properties occur here. Absolutely brilliant."

As Caligo had quickly found out, the Doctor could in fact talk and walk at the same time and despite all the fascinating things they passed as they entered what looked to be an open marketplace – alien fruits, vegetables, meats, garments, animals – he kept his subject on the rocks and gemstones of the planet. She could see them quite literally everywhere and there was some sort of gemstone affixed to every individual they passed in some form or another. A side note to this was that while she heard sounds coming from the Daramaxian citizens, she couldn't understand what they were saying at all and there wasn't any type of signs for them to read save for a very specific looking symbol over each vendor's area. _Actually, it looks more like a territory_ , she thought, observing the way two neighbors hissed at each other from opposing sides of their supposed property line.

Her suspicions appeared to only be further confirmed by the fact that the amount of space each vendor had varied based on the number of individuals present or allowed into that area. "It's like they're working out of their homes," she said, only to be met with no response. Caligo took a quick survey of her surroundings and found that the Doctor was nowhere in sight. "The only other alien here that looks like a human and I lose him. Damnit," she muttered. "Nine hundred years old and he wants to play hide-and-go-seek." However, as much as she grumbled, Caligo inwardly worried for his safety.

Now he'd gone and done it. The Doctor might not have been sure as to how or when it happened, but Caligo had gone and wandered off. Again. "Honestly. I'm starting to wonder if all of my companions are leaving each other notes in the Tardis somewhere so this keeps happening at least once. Although the first time they'd been separated he'd had a borderline heart attack. Two, actually, and he wasn't keen on going through another two. "Should put a tag on her or something," he grumbled to himself. "'If found, please return to the Doctor at the Tardis. Big blue police box, can't miss it' or something like that." The Doctor flagged down the closest Daramaxian whose attention he just barely managed to grab and smiled. "'Scuse me? You happen to see a little human running around? About this tall," he half shouted, holding his hand up to about an inch below his chin, "Leather jacket, dark hair, dark eyes my god am I talking about Cal or myself here?" Aside from the dark hair and being a little human, the Doctor was really going to have to rethink exactly how he could describe Caligo in the future. More specifics, of course, which would easily distinguish her from his ninth incarnation. Then again, the only person that was bothered by it was him, because he was the only person in current company who knew what he looked like in that previous regeneration.

"Anyway, sorry. Getting off track here. Have you seen someone who looks kinda like me?" All the Doctor got out of the Daramaxian, who was amazingly small, perhaps a juvenile, were clicking teeth and soft, snake like hisses as the alien stooped closer to get a better look at him. Odd, it couldn't be so young that it didn't know how to speak. _Unless this is so far back that this was before they established a native oral language_ , he thought, cringing at just how far off his mark he had been in landing the Tardis. He couldn't understand what the Daramaxian was saying because the Tardis didn't have anything to translate which means Caligo was wandering around an alien city with no means of communication with him or any of the locals and that could easily lead to all sorts of trouble with their current track record.

The Doctor didn't have another second to react before the young Daramaxian wrapped something soft and a little bit heavy around his neck, the smell of freshly worked hide and a warmth just below his Adam's apple instantly apparent to him. He couldn't quite see it, but just feeling the object was enough to know that it was a necklace and the warmth was an Emberite gemstone. Emberite. There was something super extremely imperatively important about it that he had been telling Caligo – well, he thought he had been telling her – about it that he definitely needed to remember now. _Big, clever, stupid brain can't remember what I need it to when it's important. Emberite isn't exactly common and it's hard to get and they don't just go around giving Emberite as gifts to random people, especially not random aliens who pop out of a police box in the middle of town! It's supposed to symbolize fire, intensity, passion-_ As it always did, that's when it hit him. "Oh boy," the Doctor sighed and forced a smile as he looked back up at the Daramaxian who regarded him carefully. "This is really nice and all. Did a brilliant job making it, you, but I'm not-"

The young alien made a sound that was a cross between a click and a hiss when he moved to take the pendant off. The Doctor stopped, wary of that sound and what it might mean, never having heard it in his entire life or in any other era he'd visited on this planet. It didn't seem like this one was going to take no for an answer because as soon as it was certain he wasn't about to take the pendant off, it locked its four hands around his body, lifted him up and carried him off.

 _Great. How does this always seem to happen to me?_ Now on top of finding Caligo and making sure that she was alright, he had to escape what was probably a hormonal teenager in essence. _Couldn't be too hard_ , he thought, ever the optimist, _It's a small one so maybe I can slip away once it's distracted._

Caligo's watch might not have been adjusted to whatever sort of time zone this was – if it could be called such – but she knew that at least a few hours had passed. A portion of the time had been spent looking for the Doctor but she had found herself distracted by a number of things she wouldn't have before. The first individual she stopped to ask for any sort of direction or if they'd seen the Doctor hadn't told her anything of use, not that she understood any of what it was saying in the first place. Instead, the Daramaxian placed what looked to be a silver and green silken bracelet it had woven into her hands and began picking out more colorful material to make more. As she watched them work, she noticed that this particular one was large but looked rather weak and moved slowly. _It must be elderly_ , she thought, and her thoughts wandered back to memories of Patricia wandering about her shop, working all by her lonesome.

A portion of the fabric the Daramaxian wove was trailing along the rough, stone covered ground and was soiled slightly by the dust. Caligo carefully picked up the ends and wiped them clean with her leather clad fingers, holding it out of the way as the alien kept on their work. Age must've made its fingers stiff, for it worked very slowly and sometimes fumbled so she took the loose strips in hand and did her best to work them back into the pattern that had been made, patching up the holes where she saw them as best she could. Worry for the Doctor's safety never left her, waging an internal battle with a sense of obligation in helping the elderly alien until another had arrived, bringing with it more materials and supplies.

Caligo made her move then to excuse herself as politely as she could manage without actual words but the elder Daramaxian wouldn't let her leave without something first. A sack roughly the size of her head was given to her and inside was a small number of various materials, including strips of the silken material and some odd gemstones. The Doctor would surely be able to tell her all about them once she found him so Caligo took the gift carefully and bowed, a sign of respect they seemed to understand, before taking her leave. "Four hours," she hissed quietly to herself, "Awful, terrible job I'm doing of keeping him safe!"

Back to her aimless wandering, Caligo figured she had to be very lucky to see none other than the Doctor himself hiding in a tree. Beneath it was a Daramaxian hardly bigger than the Tardis who appeared to be grooming. The sight alone was absolutely laughable.

The Doctor noticed her by her laugh first and shot her a look the second he was sure the Daramaxian wouldn't make another grab for him. "Oi! Where have you been!"

"Better question is what the hell are you doing up in that tree," she laughed loudly and without pity or shame for the Time Lord or herself. Caligo didn't pay much mind to the only present Daramaxian, though her presence was certainly detected. The alien hissed at her but the woman couldn't be bothered by it. One way or another, she had to get the Doctor out of the tree or else they would be stuck there for quite some time. "Are you stuck up there?"

The Doctor felt an old habit so to speak rearing its ugly head, his previous regeneration's 'stupid ape' look violently creeping onto his face but settled for throwing his head back and making an exasperated noise. It should've been obvious, even to a human, that if he'd been up there the entire day that he was in fact stuck. "Just thought I'd get a better view of the sunset is all… Yes! I'm stuck in a tree!" It sounded much better in his head but when he said it out loud, the only one who looked like an idiot was him. "I'm almost absolutely certain that this one claimed me as a mate earlier in the day and really isn't taking no for an answer so that's why I'm up in this tree."

Caligo felt a toothy grin settling on her features as she tried not to laugh any more at the Doctor's clearly uncomfortable predicament. "Couldn't just jump down and run? I thought you'd be fast enough for that!"

 _She's really going for my ego's throat isn't she?_ "You'd be surprised how fast these creatures can be."

"If they're so good with their hands and have such slim bodies I'd definitely think they're forte lies in speed rather than strength," she called back, shrugging at him. Patting down her jacket and tool belt, Caligo finally found what she'd been looking for. A grappling hook gun. Caligo had to make the shot at maybe 10 meters. Not terrible. "Doctor, do you think you'd be able to risk ruining your tie," she asked, carefully taking aim at the center mass of the tree.

The Doctor glanced down at the Daramaxian who was carefully watching Caligo as she took aim with some sort of gun and began untying his tie. "Cal," he called out in warning as he wrapped one end of the tie around one hand and ad the other at the ready. If he was following her train of thought, that was brilliant but the Daramaxian seemed to be catching on dangerously quick too.

"Now," she shouted, firing the grappling hook into the tree trunk beside him and anchoring it firmly into the wood. The Doctor used his tie to slide down the line too her and Caligo pulled the line from the tree just a second before a pair of long, spindly alien arms came crashing down between them. "What?!"

"Run!" The two of them sprinted off through the city, weaving through the different territories and other Daramaxians, the smaller one still hot on their tails when the two unexpectedly began to bolt down different paths. The Doctor, thanks to his quick reflexes, caught Caligo just in time and tugged her down the direction he was running. "This way!"

"Are you nuts?! I came from that way and I was lost!"

"Trust me! I remember where I park my Tardis!" She was shouting something at him but the Doctor could get an ear full – and he surely would – when they were safely back in the Tardis and **not** being chased by a hormonal teenage alien who had a crush on him. That lovely blue box was just within sight when said hormonal teenage alien suddenly appeared in their path, spitting and hissing with all four arms bared against them. Behind the two, a crowd had gathered from the commotion and once they caught sight of the Emberite necklace around his neck, they wouldn't let the two escape so easily. In fact, they seemed almost as worked up as the young Daramaxian.

"Doctor what the holy hell are they doing," Caligo hissed, clutching the satchel tightly in her right fist and the left ready to deploy her shield, though she wasn't sure what good that would do being surrounded by so many of them. Funny though, how none of the other Daramaxians made a move to grab or harm them but they certainly didn't seem as friendly anymore.

The Doctor swallowed thickly, not quite wanting to tell her that he in fact had no idea what all the rhythmic hissing meant but he did notice that the only aggressor here was the young alien. "I think it's challenging you," he muttered with great embarrassment.

"What," Caligo suddenly shrieked, rounding on him instantly, "Why me if it's chasing after you?!"

"Because it looks like you sort of," he hesitated for what felt like ages, hoping she'd say something along the lines of 'to hell with it' and they could find a way to sprint to the Tardis before this got messy. Well, messier. But Caligo continued to bore into him with a burning, angry and slightly panicked stare. "They pretty much surely think you stole me from that one over there!"

Caligo groaned loudly and rolled her head back. She honestly couldn't believe what she was hearing and she could believe even less that she actually thought that he was making an awful lot of sense. Of course it would look like something as absurd as that. "Great. Fine. Okay then." She shoved the satchel into the Doctor's hands and tossed her jacket over his shoulder, quite unceremoniously, before turning back to the Daramaxian. "Alright then," Caligo roared as she came within a few meters of the alien that was glaring down at her, "If you want the Doctor then you're gonna have to come and get him!" She beat her fists together and motioned once for the alien to come at her.

It did. By god it came at her with all the speed of an angry bull. The Doctor really would've rather run; Run as fast and far as their legs could carry but there wasn't anywhere **to** run and now she was fighting for him because he couldn't land the ship in the right bloody era for the life of them-

The Daramaxian was on top of her, literally, at this very moment, when Caligo crouched down and suddenly sprung back up, vaulting the adolescent alien over her head and into the ground just behind her. Even the Doctor cringed when she elbow dropped the poor creature and finally put it in a leg lock with two of four arms trapped behind its back.

"Cal, I'm pretty sure you win," the Doctor yelled over the noise of the crowd. The Daramaxian was definitely regretting the decision to pick a fight with her. The Doctor knew **he** would.

"Doc, I swear if this thing tries to bite me when I let go it's your fault," she growled back before letting the alien loose. It scrambled away from Caligo like she was some kind of monster and just as easily as that, the others backed away from them as well. Life seemed to return to normal in the community and the rejected Daramaxian gave the Doctor one last fleeting glance before scuttling off to nurse its bruises and injured pride. Caligo turned to give the Doctor a look of her own before realizing that he was already half way to the Tardis. "Does this happen often? Being abducted by aliens that seem to fall in love with your face?"

The Doctor actually stopped for a moment to think about that. "Yes, but not always to me? Not the abducting part and usually not to me. Sort of. By the way, special situation I suppose but maybe next time we could do this without beating people up?"

"Maybe next time we go out somewhere you could not get abducted by an alien who thinks they should fight for rights to you?" Caligo's smile was full of sarcasm when he rolled his eyes at her. She caught the satchel and jacket that was flung back in her face and donned the latter once more. The whirring of the engines, honestly, was a great relief yet Caligo found that her heart was just starting to come down from a drum like pace it had set for itself earlier whilst they had been sort of running for their lives. She couldn't deny that she hadn't had a good fight for the better half of almost a decade and that she didn't know if she was frightened or exhilarated by it. In a completely competitive and friendly manner, of course. _As friendly as one could be when punching someone in the face_ , she thought and laughed quietly to herself. Caligo caught the Doctor giving her a funny look, probably wondering what she was laughing about, and she remembered the pendant around his neck. "Maybe we should've given that back to the poor girl."

Untying the pendant, the Doctor gave it a proper onceover before tossing it in Caligo's direction. "Nah. Far as it's concerned, you won fair and square so any rights to me go along with that too."

"I think it's pretty safe to say that was a female, Doctor," she quipped, having become annoyed with herself for referring to the individuals of the alien race as 'it' all day. It? That was something you used to refer to objects. Tools. Not living beings.

The Doctor merely shrugged and leaned against the consul. "If you like you could call them either male or female. They have all the parts so it doesn't matter who they pick for a mate. Don't think it would've worked out cross species but amongst themselves they don't think about things like that."

"That," she said, but nothing else followed. What could she say? It worked for them so what does is matter to her? "Alright then." Caligo nodded as if acknowledging an undeniable fact. "So what is this," Caligo asked, holding up the pendant. The stone in the middle looked like orange and red gas flickering violently inside a clear stone, the warmth it gave off in her palm not unpleasant but it did unnerve her some. "Not going to catch fire from holding it, am I?"

The Doctor smiled at her as if, yes, that was an absurd question but it gave him the opportunity to continue where he'd left off before he noticed they'd been separated. "No, you wouldn't even if you broke it. The gases trapped in the gemstone just looks like that because they don't mix. It's called Emberite and in any time period it's a very valuable piece of jewelry!" In a split second, he decided that it would probably be better not to tell her what it symbolized and that it was traditionally given to a partner as a symbol of commitment and marriage. If she wanted to put it into a more human perspective, it was a nice, shiny engagement or wedding ring to show off. Outside of this era, however, it had lost that meaning so it really wasn't a lie. It would be a very valuable piece of jewelry in a couple thousand years. "By all rights and as far as anyone on that planet is concerned, it belongs to you now. Keep it if you like." It was a strange thing to think, just a little, but the Doctor had a feeling Caligo might look nice in red. A nice, deep shade.

Caligo let the pendant rest in her palm for a moment before giving the Doctor a half-hearted smile. "Blue's my favorite color, actually," she murmured, "But thank you."

 _Of course it would be blue,_ he thought as they began to rifle through the bag she'd brought back with her. Wilhelm had left a great impression on her after all, even if she didn't realize it herself. Even so, he thought that Emberite suited her. More in symbolism than the color anyway. It was only her first day with her emotions but already she struck him as being wild, stubborn, passionate and perhaps just a little impulsive. Bit of a temper too, but that's what happens when you don't mind the fire. Sometimes it might fizzle out and sometimes – more often than not – it'll burn you. It could spread like wild, leaving a trail of ash in its wake or dance with the shadows in dark halls or under the night sky. It might gently warm you or take hold of you and set your body alight. But the Doctor could handle quite a bit of heat, and as terrible as it might have seemed, he wondered what the untempered fire of the human soul might become.


	14. Chapter 14

Heeeey guys! Finally starting to get back into the habit of this but I wouldn't get used to it, unfortunately. For spring semester is fast approaching for me and that means doing this full-time student shenanigans. -v- I'm also trying to work in more sass for the Doctor. Also! Super fantastic shout out to my buddy YenKin for making the cover art for this fic! Yen's also open for commissions right now I believe so look them up on Instagram! nikkoyen

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 _Her chest felt heavy as if there was a great weight upon it. At first, she wasn't quite sure if this was a dream or perhaps she was rendered delirious by some extraneous circumstance on a mission. The possibility that it could be a mission was highly likely because it looked and felt as if she had been trudging through this dark, suffocating tunnel for ages but the fact that she had yet to make any sort of progress made it feel highly unrealistic. The weight was crushing her by this point, she realized, as her chest clenched up and her lungs nearly pined for oxygen…_

 _It was the sound of a voice. Practically a whisper in the darkness, it drew her ever further down that dark tunnel. The only reason she had continued to follow it was because she heard it not with her ears, but with her mind and there was only one person who she would always hear above all else. The one person whom she wouldn't think twice about trusting. The person she would follow to her very last, wheezing breath…_

"… _Blood soaked, godless monsters from the depths of Hell…"_

 _Caligo's eyes fluttered open, the darkness of the room the only thing she could make out for a moment other than the heavy weight on her chest and the tight, unrelenting pressure on her throat. A single touch of the hand was all she needed to anchor herself to the realm of consciousness and realize that the weight crushing her chest was a body and the pressure on her throat was a pair of strong, work-worn hands whose calloused finger pads pressed into her pulse points. Giving up the struggle to pry the man's hands away from her throat, she instead reached for the knife she kept underneath her pillow._

 _As the weapon was withdrawn from its hiding place, she struck the male in what felt like his jaw with the handle and switched their positions, bringing the blade just flush with his throat…_

" _Cal-"_

"Cal," the Doctor shouted as loud as he could, holding the wrist of the hand wielding the six-inch-long blade against his throat in a death grasp. The Time Lord swore he felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead and just behind his ear as he waited for the wild look in her eyes to clear.

"Doctor," the woman asked, sounding tired, alarmed and confused. Caligo noticed the tight grip he held her wrist with even as she moved the blade safely away from his throat and carefully observed the situation. She was straddling his torso on her bed in her room – which it had taken a moment for her to remember that she was on the Tardis and not in Blackridge – with the knife she kept under her pillow at all times in hand and the Doctor's eyes looked about ready to pop right out of their sockets. The already forming bruise on the right side of his jaw served as confirmation. Caligo sat there for a moment while the information began to set into her sleep and adrenaline hazed mind.

The Doctor finally released the bruising grip on her wrist once he was certain she wouldn't bring that knife back down on him anytime soon. "Good morning to you too," he muttered, willing his hearts to stop thundering in his chest, "I'll admit I've been received by women in their sleeping quarters before but not quite like this." Caligo's expression remained dumbstruck until he gestured down to his torso which she was still perched atop.

Caligo quickly removed herself from him completely and sheathed the knife in the Kevlar holster hidden under her pillow. The clock on her nightstand beside the bed, purely for her own peace of mind, read something along the lines of four AM and her mind was already reeling with questions, dreading the suspected answers. "You're in my room," she said, trying to get herself to sound more intelligent than that, "What are you doing in my room Doctor?"

"Question of the hour isn't it," he asked, rhetorically of course, although he did expect an answer for it after nearly being murdered by his companion in her sleep. "The Tardis alerted me. Old Girl noticed your heart rate had jumped spectacularly while you were asleep and your breathing was erratic so I came to see what the fuss was about." The Doctor rubbed his sore jaw, the tender area being his reward for his concern.

There was a feeling she was getting from the sight of the discolored skin, one that she didn't think she knew or had a name for but she disliked. In fact, she might've been horrified but there was something else in it too. She felt nauseous at the idea that she could've very well done him in all from having a bad dream. "I'm so sorry," she blurted out, "I didn't think about it. I should've known it would happen. I never meant for this to happen, I swear. I would never consciously hurt you." _I swear_ , she thought curiously at the back of her mind. Was this a promise she was making?

"S'alright, Time Lords heal up nice and quick like," he told her. A little bit of well-directed regeneration energy and any and all traces of the bruise she surely would've left on him – not that he would admit it – was gone. The Doctor moved his hand away and grinned, no longer feeling the ache the mark had left him with but it didn't put Caligo at ease as he hoped it would. "Bad dream?"

"You could say that," she murmured, inwardly relieved that he was alright but not trusting herself to be within arm's reach of him now. "Old habits," she sighed, gesturing to the sheathed knife lying at the foot of the bed, "I'm used to waking up alone especially if I went to bed alone the night before." It was the truth. For seven years she had been almost completely alone. Had she not been already awake when the Doctor arrived in Blackridge for a second unexpected visit, she probably would've reacted in a similar manner. Bad dreams weren't uncommon for Caligo but this was the first time she had ever been so shaken by one – that she knew of – that someone felt the need to check up on her. It was almost endearing if not for the fact she had been moments from carving the Doctor up like a turkey. Her inhibitor was responsible for keeping her body in a state similar to sleep paralysis until she was fully conscious of the fact that she wasn't dreaming, but she didn't have that safety net anymore.

The Doctor watched her, waiting to see if there was any more she would say. He was old enough to know that bad dreams were more than just dreams. More often than not they were memories of days long since passed but still smoldering in the corner of ones' mind. They haunted you in the dark when you were alone and most unaware like your own teeth bared viciously against yourself. It wasn't something often talked about, however, not his bad dreams at least, but humans were always better off getting things that bothered them off their chests. Caligo, unsurprisingly, seemed to constantly challenge human norms. Creta Five had been a bit more excitement than they had bargained for but she had bounced back spectacularly; so much so that he'd become a bit suspicious of her behavior.

Nearly four straight days of running, either doing little projects somewhere in the Tardis or mucking about on some alien planet with short, four to five hour breaks in between. Even when the Doctor had insisted she get some rest, she was hardly ever seen sleeping so when she finally agreed with him that it was time for bed, he expected her to be out cold for the next nine or so hours like she'd been at the beginning of the week. It was about six hours and thirty-seven minutes in when the Tardis wouldn't let him walk past her room anymore without checking on her.

"Doctor?"

Lost in his thoughts, the Time Lord had missed the annoyed stare Caligo had set on him for the last minute and a half. Right. Staring, although unintentional, made her upset and one shouldn't stay upset after having a bad dream. "Sorry. Go on."

"Would you please get out of my room?"

He wouldn't deny that he was taken aback by that at first. At least until he realized that all she had on at the moment was her very short shorts and the blue blazer she had been wearing that early morning he'd gone back to Blackridge for her the second time around. "Yes. Sorry. Can't sleep with me taking up all the space, can you," he laughed, getting up and strolling toward the door. He stopped just at the entrance and turned back to her. "Good-" The rest of the words got stuck in his throat when she flicked her wrists in his direction, shooing him out of the doorway. "Good," he said again but was cut off as the woman shut the door in his face. "Night." The Doctor pouted a little before turning on his heel and going back to the consul room to finish fixing up something that he may or may not have disconnected on their last landing.

Caligo waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps in the hall beyond her door before gently resting her head against it. "Please," she whispered into the wood, "Don't tell him next time. Please don't tell him because I don't know if I'll come to my senses in time if this happens again. I don't want to hurt him." She waited for some sort of sign, maybe the lights or a groan or hum like she would hear in the consul room but there was nothing. "Please don't tell him again." _That's the end of that, I suppose. I guess I should get into the habit of locking my door or something just to be sure_ , she thought almost ruefully. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now. The adrenaline had her blood pumping even now, so she figured she might as well get dressed and see if the Doctor was up for another adventure.

If the Doctor were to have said that Caligo entering the consul room not half an hour after the whole nightmare business in her room was a surprise, it would've been an outright lie. In fact, he'd made sure his repairs had been finished by the time she made her way to his location because he knew what she was after. His back was to the hallway where she entered and he smiled to himself a little, hearing the clunk of her boots against the metal grating. _Running for the same and yet all the wrong reasons_ , he thought just as she came into his right peripheral.

"I'm not even going to bother with sleep at this point," she grumbled, leaning against the consul and blowing a stray lock of hair away from her face.

The Doctor's smile morphed just the slightest bit into a smirk. She'd done exactly as he thought she would. "Well you're in luck," he told her, calmly at first just before he threw the switch that sent the Tardis into motion. Barely any sleep had – six hours didn't mean anything to him when he could see the bags beginning to form under her eyes – and she wanted to be out running for her life. _She wants adventure but she didn't say what kind of adventure_! "You mentioned true predators back when we were running for our lives," the Doctor said, already flipping switches and pressing buttons.

Caligo stared at him for a minute. "I'm pretty sure I know what you're referring to, but I just want to say, we do an awful lot of running for our lives y'know." She couldn't bite back the bark of laughter when she saw him pout. "But what about predators, Doctor?"

"Well," the Doctor said with a shrug, "if you aren't too busy snarking I thought maybe you'd enjoy a little safari."

"Safari?"

"Not hunting or anything. Just looking. Up close. Likely in a semi-protected vehicle."

Caligo's brow raised, skeptical of how this might be a good idea. "Purposeful danger?" Then again, everything in life bore some magnitude of danger. There was one thing that had never escaped Caligo, however, and it was that individuals who relied solely on their greater intellect often underestimated predatory creatures who relied on instinct. It was commonplace to forget that predatory creatures were more than just pure instinctual killing machines and that many of them learned from mistakes they lived through. They were capable of learning the habits of their prey and even their own predators.

The Doctor studied his companion's face for a moment. Whether Caligo was aware or not her face had become blank. Or maybe it was something a little more than that? She continued to stare at the lever his hand rested on, thinking most likely. Her lips, the corners naturally tilted upward, were drawn into a faint frown. _Are you remembering something_ , he asked no one other than himself. _Is it just a memory? Or is it more than that?_ "You scared," he asked after some time. It could've been a few minutes. It could've been hours. He was never really sure but it was too long and too quiet for his liking.

Caligo's head shot up to look at him. "I'm not scared," she snapped. She cringed a little, not having caught herself, and shook her head before repeating more gently, "I'm not scared. Are we going or not?" As if she needed to ask, the Doctor threw the lever without warning and Caligo staggered a little from the lurch of the Tardis. Had he gone and done that on purpose? Why not? She had been awfully snippy a moment ago.

The Doctor grabbed his coat and nudged her gently. "Promise nothing bad is gonna happen. It'll be fun," he chirped before rushing out the door with Caligo on his heels. "A nice, peaceful nature preserve. How could you go wrong with that? Flora and fauna from all around the galaxy. Might not be technology but just as fascinating, right?" The Doctor watched Caligo catch up, her hands stuffed inside her pockets as she followed him down the stone-like pathway framed by an expanse of green grass. They had landed in the visitor's pavilion; safer that way, obviously. "Nothing terribly dangerous here so it's safe to walk," he told her when he noticed the measured, almost cautious steps she took. Caligo looked in every direction as if she suspected danger from any and every angle. The Doctor couldn't recall her ever being so cautious before but perhaps this is what the lack of an inhibitor did to her. She was surely still learning to navigate this body, a new experience with a full range of human emotions and now subconscious responses to her environment. Same hardware, updated software.

Caligo was still cautiously scanning the area by the time she came to stand beside him and the Doctor noticed her right eye. More specifically, he noticed how he could see her pupil dilate and contract when the sunlight reflected off the semi-artificial looking lense. Eventually, Caligo looked at him and her right eye dilated a bare fraction more than her left as she brushed her bangs out of her face. "Was it the whole thing," the Doctor asked. He wasn't sure if he managed to sound as nonchalant about it as when he discovered she had a prosthetic arm. "Your eye."

Caligo looked directly at the Doctor, wholly unaware of how her right pupil contracted when she focused her attention on him. Even though she knew what he was referring to it still took her a minute to react and she didn't know where this hesitance came from. This apprehension. Was this what she was feeling or would have been feeling the first time he had asked her about her inhibitor or her arm? Was this the reason she always felt reluctant to talk about herself or Wilhelm or the people of Earth? Caligo had known that everything he had seen and experienced on the Earth that she knew displeased him. She could recall the fury in his eyes when Pillar's Military Police officer had dismissed them after they had nearly been set upon by a small angry mob but the real impact of it hadn't hit her until she had to think about it. Until she didn't have the inhibitor to keep these feelings of hesitation and uncertainty at bay. Was this a form of fear? _Am I afraid of the Doctor?_ Caligo turned her gaze to the closest thing to the Doctor – a directory, as it were – that allowed herself to not have to look at that look of his that wasn't quite a disapproval. "Not uh," she mumbled as if distracted, "the whole thing. I used nanites with a modified programming to break down and repurpose the foreign objects on a molecular level and sort of just decided to install an ocular upgrade while repairing the physical damage."

The Doctor's brow quirked. " **Install** an ocular upgrade," he parroted. He could see every inch of Caligo's body tense when he did and he wondered if he made her nervous. Did he, dare he think it, **frighten** her?

"I made the decision to," Caligo said. "I thought it would be useful and it has been, don't you think?" She chuckled and moved closer to the sign, hoping to play off the body modification. Caligo wondered if the Doctor, with his alien eyes and intelligence, could tell that the eye he was seeing was little more than a fleshy casing for robotic parts. It wasn't a lie either. The choice had been wholly hers and she didn't regret it then or now, but she wondered if she still would have made the same decision had she been susceptible to these feelings. _Susceptible? Is that the machine talking?_ _How much of me is even human?_

The Doctor saw his companion jerk ever so slightly and a small, barely audible sound escaped her. Not quite pain but more a sound of distress or discomfort. "What's the matter? You alright," he asked with mounting concern. Without hesitation, he drew his sonic and scanned swiftly over the back of her neck and the right side of her face. The implants were functioning perfectly fine, even a few billion nanites circulating in her system but nothing out of the ordinary for her. He could ask about the nanites later but what caught the Doctor's attention was the clear increase in stress levels.

"Doc, I'm fine," Caligo groaned in irritation. She pushed the sonic far away from her, part in fear that he might detect something. What it was she wasn't entirely sure, but she didn't want anything scanning her without her permission for a good long while. Caligo looked back to the directory and couldn't help pausing. The realization that she was easily comprehending an alien language, while she knew the reason why and had none to worry, caught her by surprise for the second time. Perhaps it was the surreal feeling of it? "All this talk about animals and predators but we're nowhere near them." Caligo rolled her eyes just to tease him. "Oh," she practically purred, "Carnivorous plants. Yes please."

Her moods were changing swiftly and suddenly even for a human and the Doctor knew he would most certainly need to watch out for that in the future. Caligo was choosing to ignore the distress and the cause of it and he could only assume it was for a lack of knowing how to deal with it. _Of course, it isn't helping that she doesn't know what that feels like or lets me know what's going on in her head_ , he inwardly groaned. The Doctor had to hand it to Durellis about being spot on with humans hiding their more troublesome emotions. Still, if he could keep her entertained throughout the day maybe she would discover what relieved the stress and even spark her interest. Something other than machines and working all the time. The Doctor stayed close to Caligo as she plucked a pamphlet from a display on their way into the expansive alien garden. "Actually, that's a sort of umbrella term. Not all the plants eat meat. Don't call a fish or insect-eating plant carnivorous, do you?"

"Okay, then what would you call them Doctor?"

"The former? Pescatarian!"

Caligo stopped walking for a moment and looked up ahead of her, the bridge of her nose scrunching and brow furrowed. The word was completely alien to her. A fish-eating plant? That sounded more believable than a word like that. Surely he'd made it up. _Damn sure he made it up_ , she thought the moment she turned and saw the shit eating grin on his face. "God. Really Doctor," Caligo groaned in half-hearted irritation.

"Why not? If humans can be pescatarian why can't plants? You lot might've made up the word but it's not exclusive use. That'd be rude to Martians don't you think?"

"Wait. That's a real word?"

"Blimey you lot really did lose an awful lot of history, culture and language too didn't you," the Doctor murmured. That wasn't an overly important word anyway. "Know what we should do? Show you everything you missed out on. Things you really ought to consider bringing back. Would lighten everyone up a bit I bet!" Caligo smiled one of her just-barely-there smiles and walked on ahead of him.

"Sure Doctor. But since we're already here, let's go and look at the plants that eat possibly people," the woman said. "I fancy me some non-human predators for a change of pace today." Caligo still kept a wary eye out, however. Animals may not be specifically interested in hunting people and aliens, but that didn't mean it didn't happen from time to time. She could see the smaller creatures scampering through the bushes and tall grass and absolutely massive herbivores on the horizon line that were likely of no direct threat to them. The change in the humidity didn't go unnoticed like the presence of various insects did, plants of various sizes idly devouring the unwary that strayed within their reach. Caligo felt the gentle tug of the Doctor's hand on her arm as he carefully directed her around a sprawling vine with a thickness that of her forearm. She very likely would've been caught in its grasp although unlikely to suffer any sort of injury from it but was still grateful deep down that someone was watching her back. Heavens knew it had been ages since there was another person at her side.

"Someone hasn't been keeping up with the yard work by the looks of it," the Doctor joked as he let go of her arm. At that same moment, he turned on his heel and tilted what looked to be a four-foot corn stalk with several black orchid sized flowers all gathered at the top.

Caligo immediately frowned. "Doctor we're not supposed to pick the flowers," she scolded, holding up the informational brochure.

"I'm not," the Doctor grumbled, rolling his eyes before quickly gesturing her to come closer. "No harm in it." He leaned in and took a slow, deep breath. It smelled of roses. "Come on then. Tell me what you smell," he beckoned Caligo, doing his best to keep the tightness out of his facial expression. "What this plant does is that it attracts prey within a certain proximity to it by playing a little olfactory trick. Its natural chemicals create a scent that's most appealing to that particular individual to lure them in. Bring you just close enough and then," the Doctor paused for dramatic effect. Caligo was still leaning in close to smell the flower, though she had made a sound of acknowledgment whilst he had been talking. He lunged and quickly grabbed her by the shoulders, aiming to give her just a slight jolt. "It strikes!" The Doctor laughed when she yelped but froze the moment he caught sight of her face. Caligo's left eye pooled with tears, one daring to slip loose as her slightly hooded gaze started to focus more on him. Her left eye was glossed over but he could read longing and loneliness in it like words on a page.

Caligo had barely gotten within an inch of the flower when she smelled it. The familiar scent of wood polish, gunmetal, and leather that had just a hint of musk. She could almost taste bitter black coffee and salt the deeper she breathed – after all, smell was a part of being able to taste. Her chest felt as though it were being compressed. Her limbs felt especially heavy at this moment and a sound she hadn't known she could make escaped her, not that she cared. The scent and taste clung to her senses; she was practically drowning in it. Her senses were smothered in something far disconnected from reality even as the Doctor pulled her away from the plant and held her tightly. Her mind rang with a sound that was barely more than an echo yet left no room for anything else, not even coherent thought. The entire world could be burning around her and Caligo wouldn't have noticed it for a second.

"Sorry," he murmured quickly. "I'm so sorry Cal. I should've realized. I'm so sorry." The Doctor gently led her some little ways away from the plant and held her in a firm hug. Gods, he could feel her entire body shaking even if it was just a little. It was well known that the plant recreated pleasurable smells but he knew better than most that even things that once brought pleasure could also bring you pain. He waited for what felt like an eternity for the sound of her breathing to even out and her chest to stop heaving, supporting her against his chest. Her arms hung limp and heavily at her sides as though they were little more than weights but eventually Caligo had gotten hold of herself and managed to support herself. The Doctor brushed just under her left eye with his thumb and gave her a light smile. "No shame in crying. You're only human after all."

Caligo made a sound of annoyance and pushed his hands away from her face, eyes looking in any direction but his. "Fuck you. I'm not crying," she croaked, turning to walk further down the path. "Draugr don't cry. We don't feel. I'm pretty sure my tear ducts don't even work," she rambled loudly. She couldn't see it, but she felt a heat almost like a burning sensation spread across her face and up to her ears. "I only have one anyway!" The tastes and smells she had been drowning in minutes before were quickly dissipating the more she talked, the more she breathed the fresh, humid air; but the echo in her mind was still there. It was softer now but Caligo could feel its familiarity, recognize the voice. _His voice._ She knew the song. _Our song._ "I haven't drunk anything since yesterday. Where's all this liquid coming from?! My nanites must be malfunctioning!" Except that the nanites were in the eye that was no longer capable of producing copious amounts of tears.

Caligo had been walking faster and faster, most likely without knowing it and the Doctor was already sprinting to catch up to her when he saw it. "Cal, stop!" But she was just a little too far ahead for him to grab a hold of her again. All the Doctor had managed to do was get himself within range of whatever this was too. Caligo's foot hit the wire before she knew what was happening and the air around them practically exploded. The last thing the Doctor could remember seeing was Caligo's back, standing frozen in the middle of the blast. Or at least that's what it had all looked like.

Her vision was blurred and far too bright for what it had been a minute ago. Caligo's right eye was whirring violently, doing its best to balance all of the sensory information it had just taken in that short span of time but the only reason she knew, other than it being plugged into her brain, was the feel of the very faint vibration of it. There was no sound. Not even muffled bits; just pure silence beyond that echo in the corner of her mind urging her to get up. To keep her guard up. That they weren't alone. Caligo clumsily pulled herself up from the ground onto her knees and tore open the straps on the left sleeve of her jacket, her prosthetic arm expanding into the kinetic shield. Vision in her left eye was still blurred and basically useless but the nanites in her right had helped to right enough damage that she could use her infrared filter. They were already surrounded by several heat signatures on all sides, all armed and her hearing hadn't even made a comeback yet.

"What gives? I thought you said this would put her down for good," one of the figures questioned angrily. "Or do Draugs upgrade themselves?"

"Does it matter? Look. She's flying blind. Probably doesn't even know we're here yet," another barked in response. Her own ears were still ringing slightly from the power of that sonic land mine and they had all been a fair distance away when it had detonated.

"Don't take any chances," a deep and commanding voice ordered from the rear of the group. The alien took a few steps out of the brush and to the untrained eye, it would have likely been several seconds before they realized that their skin was changing to match their surroundings. The chameleon-like alien eyed the Doctor who was currently splayed out on the ground behind the human woman and grinned with a wickedness that was intensified by the long scar running down from over his engorged left eye down to the bottom of his jaw. "End of the line, Doctor," the alien growled. "Secure him. I'm gonna put this one out of her misery myself." He cocked the plasma rifle in his hands, knowing that her kinetic shield would do her absolutely no good at such a close range.

Caligo, head turning in every direction, was terrified. The voices of the individuals were still muffled murmurs and the occasional bout of laughter. She saw several of them move for the Doctor who still had yet to so much as move and it only made the fear intensify. He was usually so quick to recover from disastrous situations. What would she do without him? _You're the Draugr. You're the one who's supposed to protect him, not the other way around! That's your purpose! The only reason you exist is to protect those around you,_ her mind screamed at her but it didn't seem to be capable of doing anything other than that; screaming at her. By sheer luck, Caligo caught the sight of the charging plasma rifle aimed at her face. Without a second thought, she raised the shield up in front of herself and rammed the main support beam of her prosthetic into the barrel. The only coherent thought there was, the only thing that mattered as the adrenaline forced her heart to send blood rushing through her veins was to stop the weapon from firing. Stop it from firing at her, at the Doctor, just firing in general. She just wanted to stop the alien with his finger on the trigger. She just didn't want to die. What she hadn't intended to have happened was for the round to feed back into the weapon itself or for it to overload. Caligo never intended for the weapon to suddenly explode, to destroy her shield or cover the wielder with the volatile plasma rounds that essentially disintegrated the upper fourth of his body, quite likely leaving him dead.

Silence filled the air, for what little Caligo was now actually able to hear. No one spoke or made any sound as the body hit the ground. It was as if everyone present had suddenly been frozen in that one moment in time. Eventually, however, someone had come to their senses and shot at her. Caligo took the full blast in her left shoulder leaving next to nothing of her prosthetic's relays still connected to her but that was the least of her problems. The entire group – there had to have been at least twenty of them in total – had descended upon her and while her Draugr training made her formidable even in a state of panic and fear, there were still far too many of them. _This is it. This is the end,_ she thought as her vision began to fade. The nanites just couldn't keep up with the damage being caused. _I always knew it would end like this._ With the strength she could muster, Caligo stayed on her feet for what was probably about a minute before someone or something knocked her to the ground. A blade struck out at her, just grazing the right side of her face as she tried to squirm out of the alien's grasp when a bellowing roar shook the air. The ground rumbled violently with the thundering steps of something in the distance and a heavy fog quickly settled in around them. The aliens growled, cussed and shouted in fear and anger but their rage couldn't have prepared them for the creature that had followed the fog.

Appearing gargantuan from her place on the ground, Caligo saw what could only be described as a hulking reptilian creature with a penchant for carnage. None of their attackers were spared and the creature even came and bit one in half, devouring them. Fearing that the Doctor or herself might be next, she reached for a plasma pistol that had been dropped by one of their unfortunate assailants but it disappeared into physical nothingness the moment the fog settled over it. While Caligo swore she saw a face in the fog, the reptilian monster crouched over her, sniffing her and then turning its head toward the Doctor. "Don't you dare! You stay away from him," she shouted, unable to clearly hear herself but certain that the creature did.

The creature eyed her with curiosity before throwing its large crocodile-like head back and uttering a rumbling… laugh?

"Janine, stop that," a voice echoed disapprovingly from somewhere in the fog. "They're both alive so let's take them back and see if we can't keep them that way." The fog itself suddenly lifted and condensed itself into a peculiarly humanoid looking shape, leaving the entire area perfectly visible once more.

The crocodile-like creature gave a low growl as it picked up Caligo first and then the Doctor, both slung over either shoulder. Caligo's right eye struggled for a brief moment before locking onto the Doctor's features and doing a very quick and basic scan. The voice in the fog had been right. Caligo could still detect a pulse but the Doctor's eyes were glazed and completely unresponsive. What in the hell happened? _He needs medical attention. I need to get him back to the Tardis!_ Caligo struggled to get closer to the Doctor but as she did, the same strange fog clouded her already weak vision.

"If you keep squirming you'll just hurt yourself more," the voice told her, but reasoning with her didn't seem to be one of the better options currently. So he made an executive decision to put her to sleep. Converting part of his body into a nonlethal, nontoxic and nonaddictive sleeping agent, he filled her lungs until she finally fell into an uneasy slumber. The crocodile-like creature, to which he referred to as Janine, growled disapprovingly at him but carried the two individuals back in the direction of the sprawling mountain range in the distance nonetheless.


End file.
